As a fan of the SF 49ers, watching Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of his team demolish the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55 was remarkably satisfying.
It was one of the unlikeliest of outcomes given how dominant Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his offense have been over the last few seasons, although it should not have been all that surprising.
In many ways, the 2020 Bucs were very similar to the 2019 Niners, using an intimidating pass rush to rattle Mahomes into making mistakes and forcing the quarterback out of his comfort zone. The struggles of the rest of the Chiefs offense followed suit in both of the past two Super Bowls.
The differences are quite clear: Tampa’s defense never lost momentum because its offense got the job done in the second half.
Much like the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 55, the SF 49ers held to a 20-10 lead when running back Raheem Mostert scored with 2:35 left in the third quarter, a lead they held until the almost exact point in the fourth quarter.
The Buccaneers’ lead was 21-6 at halftime and built up to 31-9 by the end of the third quarter, very close to the 10 points the Niners defense allowed to Mahomes and Co. through three quarters last season.
The biggest discrepancy isn’t what the respective defenses did against the Chiefs, but what the Bucs offense managed, led by Brady, the Super Bowl MVP, as opposed to SF 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and the rest of the offense in Super Bowl 54.
Mahomes’ performances in both games were remarkably similar, as noted by Matt Barrows of The Athletic:
Patrick Mahomes Sunday:
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) February 8, 2021
26-49, 270 yards, 2 INT, 52.3 passer rating
Patrick Mahomes last year:
26-46, 286 yards, 2 INT, 78.1 passer rating.
Of course, he also threw 2 TDs last year and his bomb to Tyreek Hill was the play of the game. Point is that he struggled with both Ds.
As Barrows notes, Mahomes decidedly showed up when it mattered last season, something his battered offensive line and some key drops by his receivers wouldn’t allow him to do on Sunday.
But Brady and the Bucs made sure to build the lead to greater than 10 points, something the SF 49ers offense failed to do last season, especially in settling for two field goals by kicker Robbie Gould on 4th-and-5 at the Kansas City 20-yard-line on their first drive and on 4th-and-2 from the Chiefs’ 24-yard-line on the first drive of the second half.
The point isn’t that Brady would have won the Niners last year’s Super Bowl, or as I recently posited, that he would have gotten them back this season. It’s easier than that.
If the SF 49ers score touchdowns instead of field goals, the 10-point lead they held heading into the game’s final frame would have ballooned to 18, at 28-10 instead of 20-10. They still might have needed more points, but it also would have changed the complexion of the game from Mostert’s touchdown to the end.
Looking back like this always benefits from hindsight. What the SF 49ers should have done. What head coach Kyle Shanahan should have called.
But the fact is Mahomes has played two of his worst games a pro in both Super Bowls he’s been a part of, and yet he managed to win one of those.
The Bucs might have shed a little light on why on Sunday in Tampa.