Super Bowl LV took place on February 7, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida The game was between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers became the first team in history to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
The Kansas City Chiefs were trying to become the first repeat Super Bowl champions in 16 years. The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, claiming their first title since the franchise’s only Super Bowl victory five decades prior. The Buccaneers won their only Super Bowl appearance in the 2002 season, though Tom Brady entered Super Bowl LV with a 6-3 record in the big game.
The Kansas City Chiefs were projected to win by a field goal, according to the betting odds. This article will explain how both teams got to the big game, how the champion won and the final score, how many people watched the Super Bowl and what happened during the halftime show.
Kansas City was the best team in football up until Super Bowl LV with a 14-2 record. The Chiefs cruised to a fifth straight AFC West title and the No. 1 seed. The Cleveland Browns gave Kansas City a little trouble in the divisional round when Patrick Mahomes entered concussion protocol and left the contest prematurely. After eking out a 22-17 victory, the Chiefs dismissed the Buffalo Bills 38-24 in the AFC Championship Game.
Coming off his Super Bowl MVP performance, Mahomes threw for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill were a dynamic duo, combining for 2,692 receiving yards and 26 scores. The Chiefs led the league in total offense. Everything was lining up for Kansas City to win another Super Bowl and start its own dynasty.
Tom Brady’s first season away from the New England Patriots got off to a slow start, but the Buccaneers’ finally clicked down the stretch. Tampa Bay won its final four regular-season games to finish 11-5 and earn the NFC’s first wild-card spot. The Buccaneers had a top-six defense, and their 30.8 points ranked third in the league. Brady’s 4,633 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns were his best numbers in a half-decade.
Because they finished behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South, the Buccaneers had to win three road games to reach Super Bowl LV. After beating the Washington Football Team 31-23 in the wild-card round, Tampa Bay topped New Orleans 30-20 in the divisional playoffs. The Buccaneers survived three Brady interceptions to hold off the Green Bay Packers 31-26 in the NFC Championship Game
The Chiefs beat the Buccaneers 27-24 in Week 11. The Super Bowl rematch was viewed as a potential passing of the torch from Brady, the greatest quarterback of all time, to Mahomes, the quarterback expected to dominate the NFL for years to come.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense dominated the Kansas City Chiefs’ high-powered offense from start to finish. The story of the game was Kansas City’s banged-up offense line and its inability to protect Mahomes. The result was a one-sided affair that offered little excitement for much of the second half.
The game began with Kansas City winning the coin toss and deferring, putting Tampa Bay on the receiving end of the Super Bowl LV kickoff.
First Half
The start to Super Bowl LV was an uneventful one as the teams traded punts on the first three possessions. Kansas City got on the board first with a field goal after nine minutes and 50 seconds of game time. Tampa Bay answered before the quarter ended with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that culminated with an eight-yard Rob Gronkowski touchdown reception to put the Buccaneers up 7-3.
Tampa Bay failed to expand their lead when running back Ronald Jones was stuffed at the goal line on fourth down at the 10:55 mark of the second quarter. The momentum went right back to the Buccaneers when a 29-yard punt set Tampa Bay up at the Kansas City 38-yard-line. A defensive holding penalty that erased a Brady interception and an offside penalty that gave the Bucs a fresh set of downs led to a second Gronkowski touchdown, putting the Buccaneers up 14-3.
The Chiefs’ next drive stalled inside the Tampa Bay 20-yard line. Kansas City settled for a field goal to make the score 14-6. In the final minute of the half, the Buccaneers went 71 yards, aided by a 34-yard pass interference penalty. Brady’s third touchdown pass of the half went one yard to Antonio Brown, giving Tampa Bay a 21-6 lead that seemed close to insurmountable with the way things were going.
Second Half
The first three drives of the second half effectively iced the game for Tampa Bay. Kansas City opened the third quarter by failing to get into the end zone, yet again, cutting the lead to 21-9 with a 52-yard field goal. Six plays later, Leonard Fournette sprinted 27 yards for a touchdown and a 28-9 lead. On the third play of the Chiefs’ next drive, Mahomes threw an interception to Antoine Winfield Jr. that was the final nail in the coffin for Kansas City.
The Buccaneers turned the pick into a field goal and a 31-9 lead. Neither team would score in the game’s final 17 minutes and 46 seconds. Mahomes was sacked three times and picked off twice after the Chiefs scored their final point of Super Bowl LV. The NFL’s top offense didn’t score a single touchdown, and Mahomes was on the run for much of his time on the field.
The Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV by a score of 31-9.
Tom Brady earned the Super Bowl MVP honors with 201 passing yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 125.8 passer rating. It was his record-setting fifth Super Bowl MVP award.
A large portion of the Super Bowl audience is made up of very casual football fans who care as much about the halftime show as the game itself. While the performance is often headlined by acts who are no longer in the prime of their careers, the Super Bowl LV halftime show starred the musical act with the top song of the previous year.
The Weeknd headlined the halftime show all by himself. The performance featured no guest appearances as the R&B singer played nine of his biggest hits. The likes of “Starboy.” “The Hills” and “Can't Feel My Face” were part of the setlist. The Weeknd closed the halftime show with “Blinding Lights,” which set a record with 90 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
Unlike many halftime shows, there was no real controversy to speak of. The most noteworthy part of the show was the maze in which The Weeknd performed, which sparked no shortage of interesting memes and GIFs.
The halftime show took place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The performance received mixed reviews. The Weeknd ultimately wasn’t among the most memorable artists to perform at the big game.
Super Bowl LV had an average of 91.6 million viewers on CBS and the total viewership reached 96.4 million people when combining both TV and streaming devices. It was the least-watched TV broadcast of a Super Bowl in 15 years. NFL ratings were down across the board during the coronavirus pandemic.
There were only 24,835 fans in attendance to watch the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs in-person. The stadium was at less than 40% capacity because of the pandemic. The average ticket price was $6,200, though some tickets were going for north of $68,000.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl LV ring featured 319 diamonds on the exterior to represent the 31-9 score by which the team won the big game. The Bucs logo and two Vince Lombardi Trophies were on the face of the ring. The eight emerald-cut diamonds on each side signified the eight straight wins that Tampa Bay put together to win the championship. Each player’s ring was personalized with their name and jersey number. The ring’s removable top revealed a hand-engraved Raymond James Stadium.
Super Bowl LV will be known for Tom Brady defying Father Time and erasing any doubt that he is the greatest NFL player of all time. At 43 years old, the legendary quarterback won his fifth Super Bowl MVP trophy and seventh championship. It was Tampa Bay’s defense that led the way with one of the best performances by any unit in Super Bowl history.
