Ravens Flock guide to Super Bowl LV: Chiefs vs. Buccaneers

Super Bowl Step 2: What to watch for

One reason this could be a fantastic game is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a strong defense. It’s not only good, it’s the kind of defense that works against Kansas City. The Cheifs want you to blitz Patrick Mahomes. They want you to play man coverage and be aggressive. The Buccaneers don’t have to do that.

The Buccaneers’ defense can keep the Chiefs in front of them. They can get enough pressure with a four or five-man rush and they can stop the run. The Bucs know what they have to do. They have to roll their coverage towards Tyreek Hill and give a little extra attention to Travis Kelce.

The Chiefs can get to 400 yards of offense and still lose this game. The Buccaneers need to play bend but don’t break football. Mahomes is going to get his yards. Keep the Chiefs under 30 points though, and Brady can win this thing.

So the first thing to watch for is whether or not the Buccaneers attack the Chiefs wisely. There is no reason to think they won’t. The Green Bay Packers gave the Buccaneers a great test drive for the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers had a prolific game yet the Buccaneers came away with the needed stops. Can they do it again?

The key player for the Chiefs is Chris Jones. Can he make the high impact plays on defense two Super Bowls in a row? Here’s the thing, Tom Brady is the prototypical pocket passer. This will be the 10th Super Bowl for Brady. The big games that he lost defensive linemen made the difference, by collapsing the pocket and getting him off his game.

The Chiefs are not a great pass-rushing team. They had 32 sacks this season, which isn’t close to the top. The pass rushers of the Chiefs have to win the day.

While Frank Clark is also a player to watch, Jones has a more direct route against a midline passer like Brady. They don’t need to rack up a ton of sacks. They do need a ton of pressures and quarterback hits. Look for Jones to be a problem for Tampa Bay and the reason for key stops.

Everywhere you go people will talk about it as Mahomes vs. Brady. I figured we’d talk about the teams around the quarterbacks. It seems like neglected Super Bowl coverage and I’m here for you.