Super Bowl LV is finally upon us, and it’s shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated Super Bowl matchups in NFL history.

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will battle it out against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

After a slow start to the regular season, the Bucs rallied to win their last four regular season games, and won three consecutive road playoff games to earn a birth to Super Bowl LV. The Bucs will be making history on Super Bowl Sunday, as they will be the first team in NFL history to host a home Super Bowl.

On the other side of the bracket, the Kansas City Chiefs rolled over almost all of their regular season opponents, going 14-2, and then put together wins against the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills to advance to Super Bowl LV.

Tom Brady will be looking to hoist his seventh Lombardi Trophy, and his first as a member of the Bucs. Patrick Mahomes will be looking to lead the Chiefs to back-to-back Super Bowl victories. The last team to win back-to-back Super Bowl’s were Tom Brady’s Patriots in 2003 and 2004.

The Bucs and the Chiefs met in week 12 of the regular season, and that game certainly provided some fireworks. The Chiefs jumped out to an early 17-0 lead, after the Bucs defense had no answer for Tyreek Hill. But, Brady and the Bucs fought to the bitter end, and rallied to make it a three point game. Mahomes and the Chiefs held on to win 27-24. Mahomes threw for 462 passing yards, and Tyreek Hill had 13 receptions for 269 receiving yards with three touchdowns.

So, will this time around end with a different result? Or, will Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense roll over the Bucs defense again?

Here are some key matchups to watch out for:

The Battle in the Trenches

One of the most underrated storylines of this Super Bowl is how depleted the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line really is. The Chiefs lost left tackle Eric Fisher after he suffered a season-ending injury in the AFC Championship game against the Bills. Losing Fisher will mean that the Chiefs have now lost three starters on the offense line this season. Playing musical chairs against the Tampa Bay Bucs defense is not a recipe for success.

The Bucs are coming off on an NFC Championship performance in which they sacked Aaron Rodgers five times, and got pressure on him on 24.5% of his dropbacks. Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett should be in the forefront of Mahomes’ mind, as it could dictate the game. The quicker that the Bucs pass-rush can get home, the less they’ll have to worry about their injury plagued secondary. On top of the Barrett and Pierre-Paul, the Bucs were able to get Vita Vea back in the NFC Championship game. He was able to make an impact on the interior part of the Bucs defensive line. If the Bucs pass-rush is making an impact early, this could be a long game for Patrick Mahomes.

But, when it comes to the Chiefs defense, they could also make it a long day for the 43 year old Tom Brady. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is very familiar with Tom Brady. Spagnuolo was the mastermind in charge of dialing up the game plan in Super Bowl XLII to upset the undefeated Brady and the Patriots. Brady is 2-3 in his career against Steve Spagnuolo’s defenses.

The Chiefs defense managed to get to Josh Allen four times in the AFC Championship game. If the Chiefs can get to Brady early and make him uncomfortable, it will set the tone of the game.

Whichever offensive line protects their quarterback the most, will win this game.

The Impact of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce

The Chiefs have the most dynamic duo in the NFL when it comes to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. They both present opposing defenses with so many issues, as they have the ability to change the game with one quick play. Now, the question is, how will the Bucs look to defend them?

During their matchup in week 12, Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles failed miserably in limiting these two dynamic playmakers. Hill and Kelce combined for 21 receptions, 351 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. If they put up those kind of numbers again, the Chiefs will be well-positioned to win this game, to say the least. So, how can Todd Bowels scheme up a way to prevent this from happening?

Well, Bowels has struggled against Tyreek Hill in his three career matchups against him. In their three matchups, Hill has 22 receptions for 480 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Bowels has had no answer for stopping Hill. But, when looking at the film, Bowles has often decided to cover Hill one on one with a singular cornerback. In week 12, Bucs cornerback Carlton Davis got shredded, and could not keep up with the speedy receiver. In the second half, Bowles adjusted, and was able to contain Hill by doubling him on every route.

It’s logical to assume that Bowels will do that again during this game. But, the Bucs have some concerns in their secondary, as safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead have been limited all week with injuries. They’re both likely to suit up, but it’s unknown how healthy and impactful they will be. The Bucs safeties in this game have a huge challenge, taking away the deep ball.

If the Bucs are able to limit Hill and take away the big plays, the Chiefs will just dump it down to Travis Kelce every chance they get. But, if you’re the Todd Bowles and the Bucs, taking your chance with Travis Kelce in the intermediate game is a lot better than dealing with Tyreek Hill running wild on the defense.

Kelce should be poised to have a lot of production in this game. It would not surprise me if he had over 10 receptions for 100 yards receiving.

But, at the end of the day, pick your poison, Hill and Kelce can beat defenses in a number of ways. But, taking Hill out gives the Bucs the best chance to win.

Getting Gronk Involved

Yes, in a star-studded group of offensive weapons headlined by Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown, the difference-maker for this Bucs team could be Rob Gronkowski.

The 31 year old veteran tight end is certainly not close to the player he once was, but in this game he has a chance to really catch people by surprise.

Gronk has had a great deal of success against the Chiefs in his career. In seven career games against them he has 30 receptions for 525 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

The success translated into their week 12 matchup against the Chiefs. Gronk had 6 receptions for 106 receiving yards. It was the one and only game this season in which Gronk had over 100 receiving yards. On top of the success against the Chiefs, Tom Brady trusts Gronk. When push comes to shove, Brady will be looking for the guys he trusts in big spots.

I’m not saying Gronk is going to get over 100 receiving yards in this game, but I believe that he will be impactful and make some plays down the field.

Executing in the Red Zone

The winner of this game could be determined by whichever team is more productive in the red zone. The Bucs ranked 11th in the NFL in red zone offense this season, and the Chiefs ranked 12th. Converting touchdowns in the red zone could become a true difference-maker.

The Bucs red zone defense made a great stand in the NFC Championship, preventing the Packers from completing their comeback. The Tampa Bay red zone defense actually had some success against Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in week 12. The Chiefs got into the red zone three times, and failed to reach the end zone on all three of those drives. If the Chiefs are held to field goals in the field zone, it will be a monumental advantage for Tampa Bay.

On the opposing sideline, Tom Brady and the Bucs offense need to convert on every possible scoring situation. Keeping up with Mahomes and the Chiefs offense will be a challenge, but scoring touchdowns in the red zone will increase their chances significantly.

In the red zone this season, Tom Brady threw 28 touchdown passes with no interceptions. Mistake-free football will be critical in the red zone. Mike Evans has been nearly unguardable in the red zone, and will need to be a factor in red zone situations.

Evans had two touchdowns in week 12 against the Chiefs, and has scored a touchdown in each of his last two games. Hill and Kelce may get a lot of the spotlight when it comes to offensive weapons, but Evans and Godwin are right there in that conversation.

Brady’s array of versatile weapons gives him a lot of help in the red zone.

The Coaching Battle

Bruce Arians will be coaching in his first Super Bowl as a head coach, while Andy Reid will be coaching in his third Super Bowl. The head coaching advantage absolutely leans towards the Chiefs, as experience means a lot in these kinds of Super Bowls.

A lot will be made about how aggressive these two coaches will be, and how risky they will be. Will Arians look to take advantage of 4th and short situations? Will Andy Reid look to add some trick plays to the mix?

When it comes to Bruce Arians, just get the hell out of the way.

Arians needs to take a step back, and let Brady control the pace of the game. Playing smart, fundamentally sound football can be challenging for teams coached by Bruce Arians, but Arians needs to get his squad buttoned up. I’m very curious to see how the Bucs start out of the gate. Tom Brady has a history of not having good starts to Super Bowls, and other than Brady and Gronk, they don’t have much Super Bowl experience on the roster. Arians can not let the Bucs fall behind early.

When it comes to Andy Reid, I’m expecting him to add some trickery as the offensive play caller. The Chiefs had a lethargic start to the Super Bowl last year, they can’t let Brady and the Bucs get an early lead.

Prediction

After analyzing this matchup, I’m expecting it to be one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory.

But, I’m not betting against Tom Brady.

On February 7th, I’m expecting Tom Brady to hoist his seventh Lombardi Trophy, and cementing his legacy as the most accomplished athlete in team sports history.

At the end of the day, I’m expecting a high scoring affair, that will likely come to the wire. I think the Chiefs will start off hot, but the Bucs will hang around, and strike in the second half.

Bucs: 35

Chiefs: 31

MVP: Tom Brady