Sports
Brady, Gronk Lead Bucs To Lopsided Super Bowl Win Over Chiefs
Tom Brady's offensive firepower and Tampa Bay's defense led the Bucs to a 31-9 win in Super Bowl LV over the Kansas City Chiefs.
TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, 31-9. Quarterback Tom Brady threw three touchdown passes, two to tight end Rob Gronkowski and one to wide receiver Antonio Brown. Leonard Fournette had the fourth touchdown for the Buccaneers, scoring on a run in the middle of the third quarter.
The victory gave the Buccaneers, who were playing at their home Raymond James Stadium, the franchise's second Super Bowl championship. Their first came following the 2002 season.
Gronkowski's second touchdown came on a fourth down the Bucs decided to go for after the Chiefs committed a penalty. Brown's touchdown catch came in the closing seconds of the second quarter, again, after another costly Chiefs penalty.
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Kicker Harrison Butker accounted for all points for the Chiefs, hitting three field goals: one in each of the first, second and third quarters. The Chiefs are only the third team in the history of the Super Bowl to be held without a touchdown in the game.
Ryan Succop connected on one field goal for the Buccaneers.
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The Chiefs had a regular season record of 14-2, earned the AFC No. 1 seed and won home games against the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills in the playoffs to defend their Super Bowl title. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, both a running and throwing threat, will lead his team in their quest for a repeat.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers, in their first playoff appearance in 13 years, were 11-5 during the regular season thanks to the acquisition of quarterback Tom Brady and his favorite offensive teammate, Rob Gronkowski.
This is the first time the Super Bowl has been played on a home field in the game's 55-year history. Attendance at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay is capped at a 22,000 maximum due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A small group protested the Kansas City Chiefs' mascot and nickname as fans entered the stadium for the game, a video shared by Spectrum Bay News 9 reporter Ashonti Ford shows. The Chiefs' name, and use of the Tomahawk Chop gesture during games, has become more controversial in recent years as the debate surrounding sports teams with Native American nicknames continues. "We are not your mascot" was heard in the brief clip.
Tampa Bay Bucs
Suzy Dorner, a nurse at Tampa General Hospital, was chosen to do the coin toss. The toss went to the Chiefs who deferred their choice to the second half.
Quarterback Matchup: Possibly the best in Super Bowl history. The Bucs' Tom Brady, winner of a record six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, faces the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, who is already appearing in his second Super Bowl in just three seasons as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Brady's status as the greatest quarterback of all time hasn't been questioned, even by his most vocal doubters, as of late. But some have said that if anyone could possibly turn out a better career than Brady, it could be Mahomes.
Wide Receiver Antonio Brown and Cameron Brate, a tight end, both questionable on the Buccaneers' injury report earlier in the week, were cleared to play hours before kickoff on Sunday, the team reported.
Coaches Gear Up: Tampa Head Coach Bruce Arians has been arriving at the Bucs' practice facility every day before sunrise to prep his team to deny the Chiefs a repeat.
"They have a lot of great things that they do on defense that really challenge you," Arians said the of the Kansas City team. "This whole time has been really hardcore prep. Now we ultimately have to be confident in what we're doing and go out there and get the job done."
Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid is more nonchalant leading up to the Super Bowl. With 221 victories under his belt, he's sixth in line for winning the most games in NFL history.
"I'm in a business where these guys want to be the best, that's what they want to do," Reid said during a news conference. "Then, the thing I've found with great players is they want you to give them one more thing, so they can even be greater, and that's the way I approach it."
Superfan Big Nasty talks game-day excitement: Tampa Bay Buccaneers superfan and Hall of Famer Keith Kunzig — known by many throughout the Tampa Bay area as Big Nasty — shared his excitement for the Bucs’ appearance in the big game in livestreamed video shared to Facebook as he drove to Raymond James stadium Sunday afternoon.
“I know one thing going over the Howard Frankland Bridge right now. (I see) beautiful blue skies, see pelicans flying, dolphins swimming. The water looks beautiful,” he said. “It’s a glorious day, a very glorious day, a very confident day, a very big day for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buc Nation, where I think we need to go with swag today and a little confidence, but most of all nastiness, baby. We’re gonna bring it today.”
Super Bowl Commercials: Expect some funny ones, as always — but not all the brands we've become accustomed to seeing on Super Bowl Sunday this year. Budweiser, known for its Super Bowl ads featuring the Clydesdales, will not have an ad this year. Instead, Anheuser-Busch will donate the money it would have spent on advertising to coronavirus vaccination efforts.
According to AdAge, Super Bowl commercials cost their sponsors $5.5 million per 30-second spot.
- Super Bowl Ads: Springsteen, Wayne's World, Michael Jordan, Dolly
- Watch: The Weeknd Releases Commercial Ahead Of Super Bowl Sunday
- Tampa Flag Football Teams Featured In Nike Super Bowl Commercial
Opening Ceremonies
At 6 p.m., country singer Eric Church will join 12 Grammy-nominated R&B singer and songwriter Jazmine Sullivan in performing "The Star-Spangled Banner." And Grammy-winning singer H.E.R. will perform "America the Beautiful."
Halftime Show
The Weeknd
How To Watch
- Sunday, Feb 7
- Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
- Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
- Television Network: CBS
- CBS will provide a free livestream on its website as well.
- Broadcast crew: Jim Nantz (play by play), Tony Romo (analyst), Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn and Jay Feely (sideline reporters)
Watch on Mobile:
- CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App. Also on CBS All Access.
- Yahoo! Sports (mobile browser or app)
- Bucs Official App
- Buccaneers.com
- Chiefs Official App
- Chiefs.com
Listen Live:
- Tampa Bay/Sarasota - WXTB 97.9 FM Bucs Flagship Station Broadcast Crew: Gene Deckerhoff (play by play), Dave Moore (color), T.J. Rives (sideline)
- Spanish Radio - WTMP 96,1 Caliente - 101.9 and 1470AM Broadcast Crew: Carlos Bohorquez (play by play), Martin Gramatica (color)
- In-market fans can listen through the Bucs Official App
- Satellite Radio Sirius/XM Channel 88
- Chiefs Radio Network WDAF (106.5 FM) - Mitch Holthus (play by play), Danan Hughes (color), Josh Klingler (sidelines)
- National Radio Westwood One
- Spanish Radio Broadcast | Tico Sports - Real Country 1030 AM (KCWJ) - Enrique Morales (play by play), Oscar Monterroso (color), Hannah Bassham (sidelines)
- Chiefs Pregame and Postgame Show WDAF (106.5 FM) and KCSP (610 AM) - Art Hains and Dan Israel (hosts)
Social Media Accounts:
Follow the Bucs for live game-day updates, videos and behind-the-scenes photos.
Follow the Chiefs for live game-day updates, videos and behind-the-scenes photos.
Deb Belt and Tim Moran contributed to this report.
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