By Juan Godinez, Feb. 09, 2021
In a historic Super Bowl on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers blew out the defending champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, without surrendering a single touchdown to the NFL’s most dynamic offense. This victory secured California native Tom Brady his seventh championship, surpassing any player or individual franchise and further cementing his legacy as “the greatest of all time.”
While the first quarter of the game was a slow start for both teams, foreboding signs quickly emerged for Kansas City. For starters, the Chiefs were without two starting offensive linemen due to injury, leading to a claustrophobic night for star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
With so many storylines coming out of the big game, CPP students who tuned in shared their thoughts on the most watched sporting event of the year.
“I thought the Chiefs having a makeshift offensive line really hurt them in this game,” said Ahiezer Lopez, a fourth-year electrical engineering student and Buccaneers fan. “It can’t be understated how much that affected this tremendous loss.”
Mahomes had nearly no time in the pocket thanks to Tampa’s fierce pass rush, getting pressured a Super Bowl record of 29 times.
While the Chiefs struggled to find rhythm offensively, Brady and the Buccaneers built a healthy lead thanks to three first-half touchdown passes, two by tight-end Rob Gronkowski and the other caught by controversial wide-receiver Antonio Brown. With the Buccaneers up 21-6 by half-time, a dark cloud of despair formed over a visibly frustrated Chiefs team who had been failing to generate any momentum.
The Chiefs were able to add another three points toward the beginning of the third quarter, but the Buccaneers made sure to dispel any hopes of a miraculous comeback. The Buccaneers pounded the ball down the field, burning time on the clock, and eventually scored yet another touchdown — a 27-yard rush by running-back Leonard Fournette. Following an additional field goal by the end of the quarter, Tampa took a penultimate 31-9 lead.
Down three scores in the final quarter, the Chiefs tried their best to take more big shots down the field, aiming to score points quickly in hopes of catching up. Their desperation led to more sloppiness. The Chiefs turned the ball over twice in the closing minutes, once on downs and the other after a game-sealing interception snagged by Buccaneers linebacker Devin White, bringing an end to any hopes of back-to-back Super Bowl wins for the Chiefs.
“This was the most brutal beat-down I can remember seeing in the Super Bowl,” said Justin Hernandez, a first-year kinesiology student and avid football fan. “Tampa Bay left no doubt that they were the best team on the field, as shocking as that might be.”
The game was disappointing for Hernandez, who was rooting the Chiefs to repeat, a feat no team has accomplished since Brady’s former team the New England Patriots did so in 2005.
As for the Super Bowl’s halftime show, it was performed by the Canadian pop star, The Weeknd. His ambitious performance was chock-full of bright lights and complex choreography backed by a live orchestra. The Weeknd performed such hits as “Starboy,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “Blinding Lights.”
Lucy Yu, a fourth-year hospitality management student, said “I absolutely loved The Weeknd’s performance. It exceeded my expectations and was honestly the highlight of the night for me since the game itself ended up not being close.”
Sunday’s game was nothing short of a tremendous upset. The Chiefs entered the game as betting favorites and had an NFL best 14-2 record this season previously defeating the Buccaneers back in November in a dominant 27-24 victory that was not as close a game as its score suggests.
Meanwhile, Tampa transformed itself from a 7-9 team that missed the playoffs in 2020, to Super Bowl champs this season under the leadership of Tom Brady.
The Buccaneers are poised to come back next year in pursuit of more championship glory.
Feature image courtesy of Pixabay.
