Tampa Bay Buccaneers become Super Bowl champions for second time in franchise history

Tom Brady wins his seventh Super Bowl and fifth Super Bowl MVP as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers smother the Kansas City Chiefs

Super Bowl LV (55) is officially in the history books.

The game was an enjoyable one for most of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans but a very unfortunate one for those rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The first quarter was the closest quarter of the game in terms of score. The Buccaneers started off the game with a three and out, making it not the greatest of beginnings for Tom Brady and his fellow Buccaneer players.

Patrick Mahomes started off significantly better for the Chiefs, first drive running for a first down to keep the drive alive. He threw it to the end zone a few plays later, and though it was almost intercepted by the Buccaneers, the interception was incomplete. It was then fourth down and the Chiefs had to go for a field goal, which was successful. With this field goal, Harrison Butker put the Chiefs up 3-0.

The Buccaneers had an amazing second drive. Catches from Wide Receiver Antonio Brown and Backup Tight End Cameron Brate got them to the Chiefs’ side of the field. Running Back Leonard Fournette then got an 11 yard run to move the Buccaneers into the red-zone.

One play later on 2nd and 5, Tom Brady tossed it to Tight End Rob Gronkowski to cap off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown, making the score 7-3 Buccaneers. 

The second quarter was uneventful until approximately midway through when Brady threw towards the end zone to Gronkowski for their second connection of the game. This made the score 14-3.

The Chiefs went down the field fairly fast but couldn’t get into the end zone. Instead, they settled for a field goal and made the score 14-6 in favor of the Buccaneers. At this point it appeared to be possible for the Chiefs to make a comeback. Unfortunately, the gap between the scores only increased later in the game.

With one minute left in the first half, Tom Brady and the Buccaneers offense very swiftly went down the field. This movement included catches by Rob Gronkowski and Leonard Fournette. The Chiefs defense continued to decrease their odds of making a comeback by getting flagged twice for pass interference.

At the 1 yard line of the Chiefs with 10 seconds left, Brady dropped back to pass and found Antonio Brown in the end zone for a touchdown, increasing their score to 21-6 at halftime. The game was looking very grim for the Kansas City Chiefs.

This year’s halftime show was performed by singer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (known as “The Weeknd”), a popular artist. He sang a few of his original songs, including “Starboy”, “The Hills”, “Can’t Feel My Face”, and others. The Weekend finished off the show with a great performance of his hit song “Blinding Lights”. 

The second half started with the Chiefs gaining another field goal made by Butker, bringing the score 21-9.

The Buccaneers then quickly scored another touchdown with a 27 yard rushing touchdown by Fournette and made it 28-9 Buccaneers. 

Mahomes seemed to be unable find an open receiver all evening. This continued in the third quarter as Antoine Winfield Jr. intercepted him. 

The Bucs then drove down the field and got a 52 yard field goal made by Kicker Ryan Succop. The score was 31-9 at this point.

The fourth quarter was quiet for the Buccaneers. The Chiefs tried to get their offense going, and a few catches by Tight End Travis Kelce and Wide Receiver Tyreek Hill proved to help a bit. Unfortunately, it was too late to change the ever-increasing Buccaneers score. The Buccaneers continued to play amazing defense despite the few catches made by the Chiefs. With three total sacks, Shaquil Barrett and Ndamukong Suh led the Buccaneers defense to a dominant performance. Barrett was on fire throughout the entire game, pressuring Mahomes.

With a minute and a half left, the Chiefs became desperate. Mahomes attempted to make the score less painful closer, but with the Buccaneers defense breathing down his neck once again, Linebacker Devin White snagged the game by sealing interception and leaving the Chiefs devastated at the loss. 

Tom Brady took two kneel-downs and the game was ended. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV in blowout fashion with the score ending at 31-9.

Despite the undeniable incredible defensive performance for the Buccaneers, Tom Brady won the Super Bowl MVP for the fifth time. He threw three total touchdowns.

Mahomes, unfortunately, threw no touchdowns and only two interceptions. He also got sacked three times.

The Chiefs defense simply couldn’t cover anyone in the end zone without getting flagged for pass interference. They were flagged a total of 11 times and gave up 120 yards off due to those penalties. This was a low-performance game for Kansas City.

With that win, Tom Brady has become the first sports player to win seven championships. He passed six time NBA winner Micheal Jordan. 

More history was made with Sarah Thomas as the first woman to be a referee in an annual Super Bowl.

Even though this game is a disappointing end of the season for many football fans who hoped it would be a more riveting and close championship, it won’t be too long until the NFL is back in September for some more games.

*An earlier version of this article implied that Michael Jordan was a Super Bowl Winner when he is, in fact, a six time NBA winner.