The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs meet in Super Bowl 55 with kickoff set for Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Though the Bucs are the first team to ever play in a Super Bowl in their home stadium, the Chiefs will be the official home team as the representatives of the AFC. Below, we preview the Chiefs vs. Buccaneers Super Bowl LV odds and lines and make our NFL picks and predictions.
Chiefs vs. Buccaneers: Super Bowl odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Chiefs -175 (bet $175 to win $100) | Buccaneers +150 (bet $100 to win $150)
- Against the spread/ATS: Chiefs -3.5 (-105) | Buccaneers +3.5 (-115)
- Over/Under: 56.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Chiefs vs. Buccaneers: Game notes
- The Chiefs are attempting to win back-to-back Super Bowls after topping the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 last year.
- Kansas City went 14-2 in the 2020 regular season and got past the Cleveland Browns (22-17) and Buffalo Bills (38-24) in the AFC playoffs.
- The Buccaneers are in The Big Game for the first time since winning Super Bowl XXXVII 48-21 against the Oakland Raiders. They’re in the playoffs for the first time since the 2007 campaign.
- Tampa Bay went 11-5 in the regular season and beat the Washington Football Team (31-23), New Orleans Saints (30-20) and Green Bay Packers (31-26) in the NFC playoffs.
- Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, the MVP of Super Bowl LIV, completed 66.3% of his passes for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns against just 6 interceptions in 15 regular-season games. He has thrown for 4 TDs with zero interceptions in two playoff games.
- Buccaneers QB Tom Brady, a six-time Super Bowl champ who’s in his first season with Tampa Bay, passed for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns with 12 picks in the regular season. He threw for 860 yards with 7 TDs and 3 INTs in three playoff games.
- The Chiefs and Bucs met at Raymond James Stadium in Week 12 with KC winning 27-24. Mahomes threw for 462 yards and 3 touchdowns – all to WR Tyreek Hill. Brady went 27-for-41 for 345 yards with 3 TDs and 2 picks.
- Kansas City was a 1.5-point favorite against San Francisco in Super Bowl LIV. The game played to the Under on a projected total of 52.5 points.
- The Bucs defense ranked seventh in the NFL with 5.1 yards allowed per play. The Chiefs were 16th with 5.6 yards allowed per play.
- KC was 16th with 30:14 of possession per game; Tampa Bay was 21st at 28:58.
- The Buccaneers were plus-8 in the turnover margin, while the Chiefs were plus-6 with fewer takeaways and giveaways.
Chiefs vs. Buccaneers: Key injuries
Chiefs
- OT Eric Fisher (Achilles) out
- RB Le’Veon Bell (knee) questionable
- CB Rashad Fenton (foot) questionable
- LB Willie Gay (ankle) out
- WR Sammy Watkins (calf) questionable
- WR Demarcus Robinson (COVID-19 protocols) questionable
- C Daniel Kilgore (COVID-19 protocols) questionable
Buccaneers
- WR Antonio Brown (knee) doubtful
- LB Lavonte David (hamstring) questionable
- S Jordan Whitehead (shoulder, knee) doubtful
- S Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle) questionable
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Chiefs vs. Buccaneers Super Bowl LV Prediction and Picks
Prediction
Chiefs 33, Buccaneers 28
Super Bowl money line (?)
Brady is widely considered the greatest quarterback of all time, but a head-to-head win by Mahomes and a second straight Super Bowl for the Chiefs would leave that conversation open.
What Tampa Bay does best on defense is eliminate the run game. Against Kansas City, that only puts the ball in Mahomes’ hands more often. He also has the mobility and athleticism to evade Tampa Bay’s pass rush, which ranked fifth by ESPN’s Team Pass Rush Win Rate.
Take the CHIEFS (-175) to go back-to-back and win Super Bowl 55.
New to sports betting? As the Super Bowl LV favorite, you’d need to bet $175 at -175 odds on the Chiefs to win in order to profit $100. -175 represents a 63.64% implied odds of winning, or 4/7 fractional odds.
Also see: Super Bowl Prop Bets
Super Bowl against the spread (?)
The Buccaneers’ best hope in Super Bowl 55 is to keep Mahomes and the Chiefs offense off the field. They’ll look to feed RBs Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette as often as possible.
Brady also has plenty of receiving weapons capable of working the clock via the passing game, but it will all be for naught against Mahomes, head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. If the Chiefs are able to get a lead, they’ll then turn to rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire to drain the clock and keep Brady away from an attempted comeback.
Back KANSAS CITY -3.5 (-105) to win by at least 4 points.
If you’re new to sports betting, in order for a bet on the Chiefs ATS to cash, they need to win by at least 4 points. If they win by three or less, it would be a losing bet slip.
Super Bowl Over/Under (?)
As mentioned, the Chiefs fell shy of the projected line in last year’s championship game, though that was mostly the fault of the 49ers.
Expect a high-flying aerial attack in perfect conditions in Tampa, Fla. We’re backing the Chiefs to win, so we’re also expecting Mahomes to be at his best.
Take the OVER 56.5 (-110) with Brady and the Bucs doing more to contribute to the total than bettors received from the Niners last year.
If you are new to sports betting, betting the Over would require both teams to combine for at least 57 points for an Over bet to win.
Want action on the Big Game? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Also see:
- Buccaneers’ Barrett says Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers are ‘practically the same’ (Chiefs Wire)
- WATCH: Gronkowski gifts healthcare works Super Bowl tickets (Bucs Wire)
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