In the wake of Super Bowl LV, which saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knock off the Kansas City Chiefs by a final score of 31-9, there are two storylines beginning to emerge. First, of course, is the story about quarterback Tom Brady. With the win, Brady earned his seventh Super Bowl ring, and another MVP trophy to boot.
Another storyline that is emerging involves what the Buccaneers did on the defensive side of the football. After all, this was a team that saw these same Kansas City Chiefs pour on 17 points in a single quarter back in November. On this night, however, Kansas City struggled to get anything going on the offensive side of the football.
Yet there is another angle to this game, one that – as is often the case – tends to fall by the wayside. That involves what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive line did on this night. Because they were a dominant force that not only kept Brady clean in the pocket, but also carved out some critical holes for the Buccaneers run game.
At the outset, Brady was sacked just once on the night. For the most part Brady operated from a clean pocket with wide throwing lanes to attack in the passing game. A prime example comes from early in the second quarter, on this strike from Brady to Mike Evans:
Brady operates from a rock-solid pocket on this play. The Chiefs bring late pressure, but look at the job done by center Ryan Jensen, who peels off a double-team on the interior to pick up the late blitzer, giving Brady enough time to survey the field and find Evans over the middle late in the play for a huge gain.
Take the second touchdown pass of the night from Brady, which came after an offsides penalty on the Kansas City Chiefs gave the Buccaneers a fresh set of downs. Brady has an eternity to scan the field here, before finding Rob Gronkowski in the right side of the end zone for the touchdown:
Thanks to the handy stopwatch on my phone, I have this as just over four seconds from snap to throw on this play. That is an eternity for a single play. But beyond the time Brady has to throw, look at how the Buccaneers offensive line just stones three of the four defenders at the line. There is no push, barely any pressure to force Brady to move in the pocket, and he has all day to throw.
Back in Super Bowl XLII, Steve Spagnuolo put together a plan to pressure Brady with just four pass rushers. If that was the plan on Sunday night, the Buccaneers had an answer for it, and it started with the five men up front.
But do not forget about what this unit did to open up holes on the ground. It was theorized prior to the game that the Buccaneers might find an opportunity in the run game against the Chiefs’ sub packages. The touchdown run by Leonard Fournette in the second half – just when it looked like the door was opening a bit for Kansas City – is a great example:
The Buccaneers bring an extra offensive lineman into the game and run Fournette on a power design to the right edge. With extra blocker Joe Haeg in the game aligning as a tight end on the right, the Buccaneers just cave down from the outside in, collapsing the left flank of the Chiefs’ defensive front. That allows Ali Marpet to pull, and from this angle you can see the athleticism from one of the NFL’s best guards, as he pulls to the edge and paves the road for Fournette:
The running back is untouched into the end zone, and that little window of hope for the Chiefs slammed shut.
So yes, the stories will focus on Brady, on how the Buccaneers shut down Patrick Mahomes, and the legacy angle around the veteran quarterback. But don’t forget the Tampa Bay offensive line, as they were rock stars tonight, and all season long.