Tom Brady notches 7th Super Bowl win as Buccaneers beat Chiefs 31-9

The back and forth battle between Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady never materialized in the 55th Super Bowl as Brady led an efficient offense and Todd Bowles called a great defensive game to easily take down the defending champions 31-9.

The Chiefs only lead came in the first quarter after a Harrison Butker 49-yard field goal. That 3-0 lead ended with less than a minute in the quarter when Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for an eight-yard touchdown pass to take the 7-3 lead, which they would not relinquish.

The Chiefs couldn’t get out of their own way early, as they ended up giving up 92 yards in penalties just in the first half. One of those penalties was a ticky-tack defensive holding penalty that negated a Tom Brady interception off a deflection. But later on that same drive, Kansas City had stopped the Buccaneers for a field goal attempt, but Mecole Hardman lined up offsides on the kick, giving them a first down and eventually their second touchdown and a 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Chiefs looked like they might get out of the first half trailing 14-6, but with just over a minute left, Brady was able to move his team 71 yards on five plays for his third touchdown pass of the half, a one-yard strike to Antonio Brown. Brady was helped by the Chiefs calling two timeouts, as they hoped to get the ball back, but instead only dug them further in a hole.

The second half was more of the same, as the Buccaneers were able to run the ball, including a 27-yard touchdown from Leonard Fournette in the third quarter. On the day, Fournette had 135 all-purpose yards and that touchdown. The team averaged nearly five-yards a carry, which helped them ice the game and keep Mahomes off the field.

Mahomes ended the day with 270 yards passing on 26 completions and threw two interceptions to no touchdowns. There is no doubt his turf toe was bothering him, but losing his left tackle Eric Fisher in the AFC Championship game was a death blow against the Tampa Bay pass rush. Mahomes was sacked three times, but hurried constantly, especially in the second half when Shaq Barrett and company could pin their ears back.

In the end this win was a great meshing of Brady’s ability and the Buccaneers pass rush. Brady will take home his seventh Super Bowl win, which is more wins than any NFL team has. BHe completed 21-of-29 passes (72.4%) for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Those extremely efficient numbers are about as perfect as a quarterback can be in the title game. Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time, without a doubt.