On Sunday, February 7, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Tampa Bay, Florida at 5:30 pm. This will be the first time in NFL History a team is playing at their home stadium. Both teams have been outstanding this year bearing only minor setbacks and making it to the big game. 

The Bucs finished the regular season 11-5 and finished second in the NFC South behind the New Orleans Saints. Going into the playoffs they were considered the 5th seed, but that didn’t stop them from making it to the biggest game of the year. They knocked off the Washington Football team led by Comeback Player of the Year Alex Smith, The New Orleans Saints led by Drew Brees in his final season, and finally the Green Bay Packers who were rolling all season with their MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers. 

Fans around the league had some doubt about Tom Brady coming into the 2020 season. At 43-years-old he is the oldest that has played at the Quarterback position and he is still playing strong. He had some fuel to his game this year. It seems his goal this year was to prove to the world that he was the greatest player of all time. 

Brady played for the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick for 20 years and won 6 super bowls. Many football fans figured Tom Brady’s success was because of great coaching by Belichick and that Brady was nothing without him. The Patriots dominated the AFC East for the last 11 years. This year, the Buffalo Bills finally took the AFC East and eliminated the Patriots from the Playoffs. 

Yet, Tom Brady led his Bucs to the SuperBowl. Now, many believe that Brady is actually the one who made Belichick such a great coach, this year he proved that he can play without him and still be successful. Does Tom Brady and the Bucs have what it takes to knock off the Number 1 seed in the AFC– the Kansas City Chiefs?

As for the Chiefs, finishing 14-2 on the year is a great accomplishment in itself, but that’s not all they did, they were the number 1 seed in the AFC too. The next closest team to them was the Buffalo Bills led by Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs at 13-3. Last year, the Chiefs were the 1 seed too. They are the first team to host three straight AFC championship games in NFL history. The only team to do it in the NFC was the 2002-04 Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams were coached by Andy Reid, who has been nothing short of brilliant when building this franchise. Last year the Chiefs pulled off a-come-from-behind win over the San Francisco 49ers to win their first super bowl since 1970. This year, they are trying to “run it back” and win the Superbowl for the second straight year.

 Patrick Mahomes is also breaking the league by his gameplay. He is a 3x Pro Bowler, MVP, Super Bowl MVP,  All Pro QB, and he is only 25! 

It appears Mahomes runs the offense in KC guiding Travis Kelce, who has been  outstanding. This year he has 1,416 receiving yards, which is an NFL record in itself. Between Mahomes, Kelce, and Tyreek Hill, the Kansas City Chiefs Offense is unstoppable. 

Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs have exemplary teams, but they are both beatable. They both have a lot to play for and some players’ careers, like Anthony Sherman and Mitchell Schwartz on the Chiefs and Ndamukong Suh from the Bucs, are on the line for this game in Tampa. 

This matchup leaves many NFL Fans wondering–Can Tom Brady win a shootout against Patrick Mahomes? Do the Buccaneers have what it takes to slow down the hottest offense in the league? When Tom Brady won his first super bowl, Patrick Mahomes was in Kindergarten. Does he have what it takes to take down arguably the greatest QB of all time?