Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes.
The 43-year old Brady punched his ticket to his record setting 10th Super Bowl appearance behind Tampa Bay's 31-26 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
After jumping out to a 28-10 lead on Green Bay, the Bucs had to hold on as Brady tossed interceptions on three consecutive possessions.
Fortunately for the Buccaneers, the Packers were unable to take full advantage scoring only once, on a two-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams to make it 28-23. The Packers were unable to take advantage again going three-and-out on their next two series following a Brady pick.
Give a lot of credit to Todd Bowles (that's right former Jets head coach Todd Bowles), and his defense. While Rodgers tossed for 346 yards and three touchdowns, he was under siege for much of the afternoon, getting sacked five times -- three of them coming from Shaq Barrett, and two coming from ex-Giant Jason Pierre Paul.
Still Green Bay had its chances. Trailing 31-23 with a little over four minutes to go, Rodgers drove the Packers to the Buccaneer eight-yard line, before things stalled. On third and eight, Rodgers decided to force a pass to Adams in double coverage before it was knocked away. What made the play even worse was the fact Rodgers had plenty of room to run for the score, but opted not to at the last second.
Moreover, Packers Head Coach Matt LaFluer opted to kick a field goal after the incompletion rather than go for it on fourth down. He showed no confidence in his Hall of Fame quarterback to get the job done. Instead Green Bay kicked to make it 31-26, and never got the ball back.
Brady moved the Bucs along 47-yards on seven plays, including getting a pass interference call on Green Bay to convert a third-and-four to put the game out of reach.
Brady finished 20-of-36 for 280 yards, three scores and three picks. He becomes the fourth quarterback in NFL history to play in the Super Bowl with two teams joining Craig Morton (Cowboys and Broncos), Kurt Warner (Rams and Cardinals), and Peyton Manning (Colts and Broncos).
Should Brady and Bucs win Super Bowl LV in two weeks, he will join Manning as the only two quarterbacks to win the Big Game with two different teams. Of course, Brady is going for number 7 overall.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs will try to do something that hasn't been done since Brady's New England Patriots -- and that is win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Patriots were the last team to do so in 2003 and 2004.
The Chiefs dismantled the over-matched Buffalo Bills 38-24 on Sunday night to advance to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.
After the world waited breathlessly to see how quarterback Patrick Mahomes would rebound from concussion protocol and turf toe, the former league MVP delivered with a sterling effort. Mahomes toss for 325 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He was lucid in the pocket and looked like the Mahomes we have gotten used to seeing week in and week out.
Kelce had a monster night for KC, hauling in 13 catches for 118 yards and two scores. Wide Receiver Mecole Hardman also had an impact with a 50-yard run on an end-around reverse that set up the Chiefs second touchdown of the night, a 9-yard plunge by Darrel Williams that gave KC the lead at 14-9 in the second quarter.
While the Bills were able to get some momentum going late to make the score look respectable, they really had no answer for the Chiefs.
After jumping out in front 9-0 on a field goal and a touchdown that was a result of a fumble on a punt return, the Bills looked over-matched. They couldn't slow down the Chiefs high powered offense, and Josh Allen never looked comfortable in the pocket, spending most of the night running for his life.
It was a great year for Buffalo, but the Chiefs are on a higher level right now.
We have the Buccaneers playing in their home stadium in two weeks, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. This will be the first time ever that a team plays the Super Bowl in its own building. The 1979 Rams and 1984 49ers were close, playing in stadiums that were close in proximity to their own ballparks, but it was not their home stadium.
This will be a first.
It will also be a rematch of a game we saw in Week 12 when the Chiefs went down to Tampa Bay and beat the Bucs 27-24. The game is best remembered for Kansas City jumping out to a 27-10 lead, and Hill's somersault into the end zone in the second quarter of that game.
This should be a classic!
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