Insurmountable: How the Bucs won the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl was summed up by a simplistic proverb, the best defense is a good offense, or rather its inverse. The incredible performance of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense was imperative to Bucs’ victory. Although the offence played well, the defense silenced the Kansas City Chiefs.

Inarguably, the Chiefs were one of the best teams in the 2020 NFL season. Despite the Chiefs’ defense being just mediocre, the team was propelled into stardom by their offense. The offense averaged over 400 yards per game, with 300 yards in the air, and 100 on the ground. Their record was spotless; the Chiefs had only two losses in the regular season and averaged 30 points per game. Yet, in the Super Bowl, they fumbled. They scored a season-low of nine points. What resulted in this sharp decline? Ultimately, the Bucs’ ability to eliminate the Chiefs’ star players was integral to the creation of this outlier.

This season the Chiefs offense was characterized by its explosiveness. Patrick Mahomes headed that ship. His elite ability as quarterback led the Chiefs to two Super Bowls appearances within his three years of starting. His talent allows other players to flourish; Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce have bloomed with him. Hill has become one of the most difficult people to cover in the NFL. The former special teams player has averaged over a thousand yards receiving in all three seasons Mahomes has played. His blazing speed in tandem with Mahomes’ accuracy terrifies defenses. Travis Kelce is a similar beast. This year alone he almost led the league in receiving yards as a tight end, which would have been the first time in NFL history. Moreover, his consistency as a medium range weapon is unrivaled at his position. Overall, these three players have kept defences on their toes throughout the year.The Chiefs were never truly out of it. They were always just one big play away.

Therefore, in order to win, a team needed to eliminate those players. The Buccaneers executed that to a tee. Firstly, they dealt with Tyreek Hill. The Buccaneers chose a cover option that would allow him to be doubled on almost every play; Tyreek’s signature deep runs and short slants were always helped. As a result, Hill was effectively shut down during the first half and barely picked up speed in the game's second half. In continuation, Mahomes was pressured excessively. The Chief’s offensive line crumbled. He had a total of 29 dropbacks, completing less than 50% of passes. This amounted to his worst QBR in his career. Travis Kelce was the next to fall. Although he didn’t perform poorly, his impact was significantly lessened. He succeeded in short crossing routes that allowed for limited yards, only putting up 40 in the first half. These statistics help to illustrate the deafening of Chiefs’ explosivity, which destroyed their chances of winning. They were no longer one play away, they were multiple drives.

In totality, the Buccaneers win stemmed from defensive moves that took out the Chiefs star players. Inadvertently, this strategy resulted in the Chiefs being mentally tapped out. They had never been down by such a deficit. They were defined by their ability to dominate, but they were dominated. Thus, in uncharted waters, the Chiefs fell out of the game. This idea was given legitimacy through their costly drops after costly drops. Ultimately, Tyreek Hill’s tragic off-the-helmet drop served as a microcosm of the game as a whole.