Ringside Report Super Bowl LV Recap – Football News
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By Ron Signore
Anyone who knows me knows my favorite Quarterback of all-time is Peyton Manning. The only time I didn’t pull for Tom Brady was when he would play Peyton Manning. Maybe it was the aspect of always feeling like Peyton was such a great quarterback, and arguably, he is the greatest passing quarterback we have seen to many respects. His career was capped off last night as being inducted to the Pro-Football Hall of Fame with this year’s class of legendary players.
Super Bowl LV had such a different feel to it, and it was largely from the current state of the pandemic, but also the current state of the civil unrest we are experiencing. A stadium with empty seats, masks, social distancing, messages addressing the civil unrest and an extra long half time show to boot were some basic characteristics of the event.
One thing was familiar in the most unfamiliar way. Tom Brady playing for a championship, though not in a Patriots uniform. Tom Brady has commonly been the enemy of most football fans outside of Patriots fans to the point where there seems to be this notion that people hope he fails just because he keeps succeeding. This time was different though. This year, Brady was on a wild card team that was deemed the underdog, a notion no football fan is familiar with when it comes to the future hall of famer.
Going up against a red-hot Kansas City Chiefs team with the most dynamic quarterback in the league of Patrick Mahomes, who is only 25 years old, the 43-year-old Brady visibly had a chip on his shoulder, though also had a sense of a calm confidence to him all week. Entering the game, in fact like every other final game of the season Brady partakes in, speculation rises of when he will be done. Would this be the game that handed the torch over to Patrick Mahomes as the face of the league?
No. It was not to be, and it was emphatically expressed that this would not be Brady’s final game.
The game started off like a solid chess match that people would have expected between the two teams competing for a championship. Some small gains here and there with some good defensive play from both sides. Kansas City struck first with a 49-yard field goal to open the scoring a little more than midway through the first quarter, jumping to a 3-0 lead. That would be the last time the Chiefs would be on top.
While the Bucs defense continued to stifle Mahomes and the Chiefs explosive offense, the 43-year-old Brady looked like he was in the prime of his career shredding the Chiefs defense for 2 unanswered touch downs, to a familiar face in Rob Gronkowski. While the Chiefs added another field goal to be down 14-6, Brady did his best Joe Montana impression leading the Bucs down the field in a (under) two-minute drill, capped off with a touchdown to Antonio Brown to go into the half 21-6.
The halftime show was of mixed reviews from what I could see from social media, as well as in my own home. The Weeknd put on a very upbeat performance, it had it’s impact on fun and filled the purpose of the analogical 7th inning stretch if you will. However, the camera work, the funhouse cinematography was nauseating. I was not really a fan personally- it also isn’t really my favorite music, so it was a good time to re-fill the nacho platter and prepare for the second half.
Adjustments needed to be made by Kansas City if they wanted any hope to win this game. They came out of the second half with a charge and capped off an opening drive with another field goal, still training 21-9. That would be the last time they would put points on the board.
Brady methodically did what Tom Brady does at such a high level, balancing his teams attack by ground and by air to add two more scores, one a 27-yard run by Leonard Fournette and a field goal by Ryan Succop of 52 yards. The Buccaneers defense was just too much as defensive coordinator Todd Bowles kept constant pressure on Patrick Mahomes like swarming bees attacking their prey. He did this by also resisting the urge to allow for an explosive big play from WR Tyreek Hill, consistently keeping him double covered and a safety high in coverage. This did allow for some yardage in lower routes by Travis Kelce and some decent runs from running back Edwards-Helaire. However, nothing of substance was ever able to happen for the Chiefs and the Buccaneers dominated the game, winning on all 3 areas of the game, offense, defense, and special teams.
The last time I saw such a dominating performance where the game was never really in jeopardy was in 2013 when the Broncos led by Peyton Manning played the Seattle Seahawks. That game was doomed from the start with an opening play safety from a bad snap that flew over Manning’s head. This was not quite as dominating as that game, nor the Ravens beating up on the Giants in the 2002 Super Bowl, or most notably Super Bowl 20 when the greatest defense of all time stepped on the field with the Chicago Bears against the New England Patriots in the 1985 season. But this was clearly Brady’s day as he racked up his 5th Super Bowl MVP in his 10 Super Bowl appearance and his 7th championship victory. There is a legacy here that only compares to the likes of icon Michael Jordan. Like Jordan with coach Phil Jackson who allowed a little more leash with leadership and direction of Jordan, head coach Bruce Arians instilled the same faith in Brady to lead the Buccaneers to their second Super Bowl title in franchise history, and Arians’ first as a head coach.
Brady will be back. Next year, do not count him out, he still has it.
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