The Mycenaean

Tom Brady (left) and Patrick Mahomes (right) match up for Super Bowl LV. Brady is the quarterback for the Buccaneers and Mahomes is the quarterback for the Chiefs. (photo courtesy: Forbes)

The NFL championship this year was a battle between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

 Prior to the Super Bowl, The Buccaneers had an 11-9 record. They also have 6 time Super Bowl champion, Tom Brady, as their quarterback.

Their opponent, the Chiefs, entered the game with a 14-2 record. Their young quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is an up and coming star.

Super Bowl LV started off with Suzie Doner, an ICU nurse, flipping the Super Bowl coin. The Chiefs won the coin toss, but deferred – meaning the Buccaneers would be receiving the ball in the first half.

First Quarter:

The NFL championship got off to a very slow start. The Buccaneers were stopped on their first possession – reaching their fourth down fairly quickly.

Mahomes was able to secure a first down on the Chiefs first possession, but it did not lead to anything for Kansas City.

Finally, the game picked up with about six minutes left in the first quarter. The Chiefs had multiple touchdown attempts, but failed. The Chiefs eventually settled for a field goal. Harrison Butker kicked a 49-yard field goal, putting the Chiefs in the lead. 

Tampa Bay came back strong on their next possession. Gaining 75 yards in only 8 plays, Tom Brady and his former teammate, Rob Gronkowski, made a play that scored the first touchdown. This was a record for the Buccaneers quarterback. Brady has been to 9 other super bowls, but he had never scored a touchdown in the first quarter before now.

The first quarter ended soon after this touchdown — Tampa Bay winning by 4. 

Second Quarter:

The quarter was by far the most eventful quarter of Super Bowl LV.

After only a few minutes of the second quarter, the Buccaneers were already on their opponents one yard line with a first down. However, the Chiefs came out with very strong defense and were able to prevent the Buccaneers from scoring.

This resulted in Kansas City ball, but they had another unsuccessful possession – their offense was not on their game.

Tampa Bay soon reached their 4th down and attempted a field goal. However, due to an offsides call against the Chiefs during the kick, the field goal was not counted and Tampa Bay got a first down instead. After a fantastic throw by Brady, Rob Gronkowski catches the ball once again to score the team’s second touchdown. 

The Chiefs were down 14-3, but were determined to fight until the end of the quarter. They struggled to make their way up the field, and eventually settled for a 34-yard field goal with 1 minute left in the first half.

Tampa Bay was still not satisfied with their lead, and decided to earn some points before the end of the half. In an attempt to get the ball up the field fast, Brady made a long pass all the way to the Chiefs 20 yard line. The pass was incomplete, but a pass interference was called on the Chiefs. The Buccaneers got the ball at the 20 yard line with 18 seconds left in the first half.

After another pass interference call on the Chiefs, Tampa Bay got the ball on the 1 yard line. Brady passed the ball to Antonio Brown for a touchdown. After this, there were 6 seconds left in the half, and the Chiefs were beyond frustrated. The half ended with a score of 21-6 and an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Chiefs safety, Tyrann Mathieu. 

Third Quarter:

The Chiefs started off with the ball in the second half. After an uneventful 4 minute long possession, Harrison Butker scored his third and final field goal from the 52 yard line. 

Tampa Bay did not back down in the second half – they gained 75 yards in only 3 minutes on their first possession of the half. Rob Gronkowski had another important play, gaining some yardage for the Buccaneers. On the very next play, Leonard Fournette ran the ball into the end zone to score Tampa Bay’s final touchdown. This made the score 28-9.

The Chiefs did not fight back – Mahomes was sacked and threw an interception on the next possession. 

Tampa Bay did not let up. They moved the ball on their next possession, and Ryan Succop scored a 52-yard field goal. 

The quarter ended with the Chiefs on their opponents 30 yard line.

Fourth Quarter:

To start the fourth quarter, Mahomes completed a pass that got Kansas City to the 10 yard line. However, similar to the rest of the game, the Chiefs were still not able to secure the touchdown. 

Despite the disappointing offensive possession, Kansas City defense came out strong and was able to stop Tampa Bay on their next possession with 8 minutes left in the game.

The Chiefs then slightly improved on offense — they completed multiple first downs and got to their opponents 27 yard line. Still, they could not score. Mahomes was sacked twice and the Buccaneers gained possession of the ball once again.

Kansas City defense stayed strong though, and stopped Tampa Bay once again. This gave the Chiefs one last chance at scoring. 

After multiple plays, the Chiefs secured a first down and were fairly close to their opponents end zone with 2 minutes left on the clock. With one last attempt to score in the super bowl, Mahomes threw the ball into the end zone. It was intercepted by the Buccaneers, making the Chiefs last attempt at scoring disappear. 

The Tampa bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55, with a final score of 31-9. This was Tom Brady’s 7th Super Bowl win, and he was named the MVP of the game. 

Honorable mentions off the field: 

Sarah Thomas – Sarah Thomas has broken many records. According to The New York Times, “Thomas, 47, became the first woman to referee full-time in the N.F.L. in 2015 and first officiated a playoff game in 2019.” She also made history at Super Bowl LV, being the first woman to ever officiate a Super Bowl. 

Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar – Lori Locust is a defensive line assistant for Tampa Bay and Maral Javadifar is an assistant strength and conditioning coach for Tampa Bay, respectively, as noted by The New York Times. These women broke history at the Super Bowl. They are the first woman to ever coach in a Super Bowl game. They are also the first female coaches to win a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LV was an extremely tough blow for the Kansas City Chiefs, but an exciting victory for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — a very interesting conclusion to the NFL season.