Tag: 2021 super bowl

Tom Brady somehow won a Super Bowl on a torn MCL

Tom Brady’s legacy is bulletproof at this point.

The legend of Tom Brady continues to grow. Not only did the future first ballot Hall of Famer just win his seventh Super Bowl, and his first without Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, but he also helped the Buccaneers dismantle the Chiefs with an injury.

It wasn’t publicly known at the time, but Brady played in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs on a torn MCL. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport, Brady played in the Super Bowl on a torn MCL, which required surgery after the game was played.

Brady threw three touchdowns. In the Super Bowl against Patrick Mahomes. On a torn MCL!

The Buccaneers’ defense certainly had a hand in their dominating win over the Chiefs, but Brady played well enough in his own right to help them cross the finish line. And now we know he did it while he probably shouldn’t have been playing. Pretty epic.

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Antoine Winfield Jr. shared the most beautiful moment with his father after Super Bowl 55

This was special.

It’s been one week since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throttled the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55, winning 31-9 thanks to a swarming defense (that took advantage of an overmatched offensive line.)

Antoine Winfield Jr., a rookie safety out of Minnesota who was the 45th pick in last year’s draft, was a key part of Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ plan to stop a Chiefs offense that had looked unstoppable. After missing the NFC Championship game with injury, Winfield Jr. returned to play 74 snaps, largely covering deep to take explosive plays away from Patrick Mahomes.

Winfield Jr. ended up with an interception and was in on six tackles as he won a title in his first year. There to exuberantly great him afterward? His father, Antoine Winfield Sr., who spent 14 years in the league and never got to a Super Bowl.

Winfield Sr. spent his career with the Bills (1999-2003) and Vikings (2004-2012) and appeared in only seven playoff games total. He understands how rare a victory like this is, thus the jubilation.

What a beautiful moment.

Of course Winfield Jr. will mostly be remembered for his epic taunt of Tyreek Hill.

He was fined $7,815 for the above and … what are you doing, NFL? Let the players have some fun.

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Tom Brady is now in trouble for chucking the Lombardi Trophy off a boat

The daughter of the original Lombardi Trophy silversmith is asking for an apology.

An on-his-way-to-wobbly Tom Brady decided, the other day, to chuck the Lombardi Trophy from one boat to another. A Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end, Cameron Brate, caught it with relative ease.

No doubt by now you’ve seen the clip, and maybe read that Brate called it the best catch of his life. Perhaps the funniest part of the whole ordeal is that somebody caught Brady’s daughter yelling, “Noooo!” because, yes, women are smarter and make better choices, just in general.

Anyway, that pretty much was that. Not going to say it made Tom Brady cool or relatable. But it was a thing he did.

Or! Apparently there’s controversy around it:

“It takes a lotta work, a lotta hard work. A lot of hours go into it. It just really upset me that this trophy was disgraced and disrespected by being thrown as if it was a real football. I didn’t sleep for the past two nights because of this. I was that upset. Because I know the passion that goes into this trophy and how my dad and all his fellow silversmiths are so proud to make this. I personally would like an apology, not just to me and my family and the other silversmiths, but to the fans.”

Huh. Well. Kudos to Lorraine for defending her father’s line of work, and I can see where she’s coming from. However I feel like we should point out that the Lombardi Trophy, unlike the Stanley Cup, is re-sculpted each year. Meaning that Tom Brady has held SEVEN of these things. He was bound to get bored with them at some point. He, better than anyone in the history of the sport, knows they’re replaceable.

Also, his forever teammate Rob Gronkowski once famously used a Lombardi earned by the New England Patriots to literally bunt a baseball, leaving a large dent.

Besides that, the Stanley Cup — which is actually an artifact — is routinely abused by hockey players in various ways. That World Series trophy that looks like it was made to break constantly breaks. One of the most prestigious awards anywhere, the one given for winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, ended up in shards on the floor of the Wisconsin locker room this year.

To the victors go the spoils. What happens next is up to them.

Patrick Mahomes was, in fact, good in the Super Bowl. The film of his negative plays proves it.

Let’s look at every negative play.

This article should not ned to exist. Most people watching the Buccaneers’ 31-9 win over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV will tell you that Patrick Mahomes did everything in his power to give Kansas City a chance.

But there is a very loud group of people out there who will tell you that the Chiefs quarterback played poorly. Statistically speaking, that’s a fair assessment of his performance. It was, easily, the worst of his career. It was the first time Mahomes failed to lead his team to a touchdown. His 61 dropbacks resulted in a loss of 11.4 Expected Points. His 52.3 passer rating was the worst of his career.

The lack of production was mostly the result of the intense pressure Mahomes found himself under for most of the game. The Buccaneers pressured him on 52% of his dropbacks — the highest mark ever recorded in a Super Bowl. But some have argued that Mahomes brought some of that pressure on himself. That, at times, he reacted to pressure that wasn’t there, causing him to miss out on big plays down the field.

Respected NFL analyst Gregg Cossell was one of those people.

Others said he held the ball too long. And when he was able to get the ball off, he was inaccurate with his passes.

I didn’t see much of that on tape, though. In fact, after reviewing the tape, I wouldn’t even say Mahomes played poorly. There were, of course, some bad plays — there always are — but I don’t believe that any of the popular criticisms we’ve heard this week are valid.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. In this post, we’re going to be looking at every incompletion, interception and sack. I’ll offer my opinion on why the play failed but you’re free to form your own.

Let’s get started…

The Counter: How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won Super Bowl 55

Football is so complicated. Except when it isn’t.

Football is a remarkably complex game, with 11 players on each side flying into highly orchestrated chaos at the snap of the ball. You think about the men and women (thanks, Bruce Arians) who coach the sport and the time they’ve put into training athletes on technique as well as the hours spent watching film and developing game plans and it’s all a little bewildering.

Then you get to the final game of the year, with the two teams who’ve found a way to persevere that long, and the margins are as small as can be. In can take days or weeks of digging to understand the final result of a game like that.

Or, as is the case with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55, the why and how are blindingly obvious: One team just couldn’t block the other.

Kansas City’s banged up line never gave QB Patrick Mahomes a chance. That’s the most obvious reason the Bucs won. But it was still up to Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to make that advantage count with a smart game plan.

Then there was the work of Byron Leftwich, the Bucs offensive coordinator who found a way to make Bruce Arians’ high-velocity downfield offense work for legendary QB Tom Brady, who is more comfortable working a quick, short and efficient scheme.

The hosts of our NFL podcast The Counter — Steven Ruiz, Charles McDonald and Chris Korman — broke down Super Bowl 55 not long after ended in the video above.

To hear their extended analysis of the game, subscribe to The Counter using the links below and listen to the latest episode.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | TuneIn

This guy brought a giant snake to the celebration in Tampa even though he’s a sad Chiefs fan

Sure. Why not?

Well, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55 appears to have had much the same result as every Super Bowl up to this point: Fans of the hometown team are out celebrating in the streets of that city.

It just so happens that this time 1) those hometown teams are actually partying where the game was held for the time ever and 2) we’re in the middle of a pandemic.

That latter fact doesn’t seem to be tempering any enthusiasm. Sure, the NFL went out of its way to honor frontline healthcare workers through the buildup to the game (giving them tickets and spotlighting a few), but all that goodwill could be wiped away if COVID-19 numbers spike in Tampa after this and endanger those workers.

And, well, that seems like it’s a possibility:

Not a lot of mask discipline being displayed here, friends.

But hey, at least there is this giant snake taking part in the festivities.

I guess if you have a giant boa constrictor, and there’s a massive party going on, and a TV camera rolls up and you feel you can get your boa, Diamond, some shine, you do it. Even if you’re a sad Chiefs fan.

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Tom Brady owes his 7th Super Bowl win to the brilliant work of Tampa Bay’s coordinators

The Chiefs got thoroughly out-coached.

The Buccaneers were not supposed to have the coaching advantage in Super Bowl LV.

We spent all week gushing about Andy Reid’s and Eric Bieniemy’s brilliantly designed offense and Steve Spagnuolo’s dynamic defense. But it was their counterparts, Bruce Arians, Byron Leftwich and Todd Bowles who shined on the NFL’s biggest stage in a 31-9 win for Tampa Bay.

It was a dominant display from start to finish. The Buccaneers offense moved the ball at will. The defense did something that no other defense has done: Hold a Patrick Mahomes-led team to single digits. It was easily the worst performance of his young career.

We’ll have to wait for the all-22 to drop to fully understand how brilliant of a defensive plan Bowles put together for Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl triumph. But from what I could see on the broadcast view, it appeared the Buccaneers lived in two-high coverages with their safeties working in tandem with the cornerbacks to bracket the most dangerous threats.

It’s not a ground-breaking strategy — every team plays Kansas City’s offense like this — but the execution appeared to be flawless.

And the performance of the secondary, which of course was made easier by a ferocious pass rush (against an out-manned Chiefs line), was made more impressive by the fact that … the Bucs defense typically doesn’t play this way. At least they hadn’t for most of the season. But Bowles adjusted his approach following Tampa Bay’s loss to the Chiefs in Week 12.

Making such a drastic change to your scheme in the heat of a playoff run and pulling it off is coaching witchcraft.

Bowles deserves all the praise he’ll get after this one, but Leftwich should be celebrated as well. He heard a lot of criticism this season, especially when things weren’t going well around the middle of the season.

The Bucs weren’t calling enough play-action! They weren’t using enough motion! They were making things too hard on Tom Brady!

Well, Leftwich eventually figured it out. Yes, he had plenty of talent to work with. But he maximized his talent, which is so much harder to do when you have such a deep stable of weapons. No player was wasted.

He did that while brilliantly blending Arians’ vertical offense with the stuff Brady was doing in New England for the last two decades, which isn’t the easiest feat to pull off given how different those two schemes are.

And it didn’t just work. It dominated the league over the last two months or so.

The Bucs team we saw get run off the field in New Orleans back in Week 1 looked nothing like the team we saw dominate the Chiefs for 60 minutes on Sunday. On either side of the ball. That’s a hell of a coaching job.

And it’s worth pointing out that this is the only NFL team with black coaches at each coordinator spot. Arians has done more for diversity in the coaching ranks than the Rooney Rule ever has and it’s no surprise that it’s paid off. Hopefully, the NFL lives up to its reputation as a copycat league and other teams expand their pool of candidates.

Though maybe I shouldn’t hold out hope, since they already missed a chance during this cycle:

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The Chiefs’ offensive line was completely overwhelmed and gave Patrick Mahomes no chance

Patrick Mahomes had no chance to get anything going against the Chiefs defensive line.

There’s no other way to slice it. The Chiefs offensive line got destroyed in their 31-9 Super Bowl loss to the Tamp Bay Buccaneers. Shaq Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and the Buccaneers defensive line lived in the backfield.

Patrick Mahomes, as a result, was constantly on the run and ended up completing just 26-of-49 passes for 270 yards. He was sacked three times and hit twice more.

The injuries on the Chiefs’ offensive line were just too much to overcome. Eric Fisher, who injured his achilles in the AFC Championship, and Mitchell Schwartz, out longterm with a back injury, were greatly missed. The fact that the Chiefs were chasing the Buccaneers all night long — Tampa had a 21-6 half-time lead — didn’t make matters any better. Once they were down by multiple scores and it became obvious that they needed to throw, the Buccaneers just teed off and made life impossible.

Mahomes was only sacked one time through three quarters, but that was mainly due to his own mobility. It truly felt like the Buccaneers got pressure on every single passing play.

Even with the papier-mâché offensive line, Mahomes still played a pretty strong game. Late in the game, when the Chiefs were trying to mount an impossible comeback, Mahomes managed to throw a perfect pass while parallel to the ground as a Bucs defensive lineman chased him.

There really wasn’t much Mahomes could do. The Buccaneers defense just pulverized the Chiefs offensive line in pass protection.

Mahomes barely completed half of his pass attempts and he had a handful of incredible throws that were dropped as he was running away from Buccaneers defenders that were trying to rip his head off. When it’s all said and done, don’t be surprised if Mahomes was pressured on 70% of his dropbacks — it really was that bad.

This game showed us that not even a human cyborg like Mahomes can overcome shoddy blocking. Perhaps things would have been different with a fully healthy offensive line, but the Chiefs backups simply had no chance against the ferocious Tampa Bay pass rush.

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What were the winning Super Bowl squares?

What were the winning numbers if you played the Super Bowl squares game everyone loves?

Super Bowl LV is over and now is the time for everyone to check out how they did on their wagers … and squares.

The Super Bowl squares game captivates hardcore and casual fans.

We’re one-stop shopping for the results:

First quarter

Game score: Tampa Bay 7, Kansas City 3

Winning numbers: TB 7, KC 3

Second quarter

Tampa Bay 21, Kansas City 6

Winning numbers: Tampa Bay 1, KC 6

Third quarter

Tampa Bay 31, Kansas City 9

Winning numbers: Tampa Bay 1, KC 9

Final

Tampa Bay 31, Kansas City 9

Winning numbers: Tampa Bay 1, KC 9

 

 

Watch Amanda Gorman’s moving Super Bowl poem

She was inspired by the Super Bowl 55 honorary captains.

Sports and poetry don’t seem like they naturally go together, but Amanda Gorman performed a sincere ode to health care workers, educators and veterans before Super Bowl 55 kick off. Gorman captured the nation’s attention with a stirring poem at President Joe Biden’s inauguration in late January. Since then, the young poet has been catapulted into the spotlight, but Super Bowl event organizers told USA TODAY Sports that the performance had been planned before she made a splash at the inauguration.

Right before the coin toss, the NFL brought out the honorary captains for the game—US Marine vet James Martin, educator Trimaine Davis and ICU nurse manager, Suze Dorner.  Gorman performed a pre tapped poem that celebrated the hard work, dedication and selfless spirit of everyone who has continued to serve the community through the pandemic.

“Poetry at the Super Bowl is a feat for art & our country, because it means we’re thinking imaginatively about human connection even when we feel siloed. I’ll honor 3 heroes who exemplify the best of this effort. Here’s to them, to poetry, & to a #SuperBowl like no other,” Gorman tweeted.

Without question, Gorman was a hit.

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