Rob Gronkowski

NFL fans have become accustomed to watching Tom Brady win Super Bowls. The 43-year-old won his seventh Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night, but this time, it was different. Brady helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 to cap his first season with the franchise.

Brady now joins Peyton Manning as the only two quarterbacks to start and win Super Bowls with two different teams.

Super Bowl LV was a memorable one—but not for the same reasons as last year's edition of the championship game. The Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers played a nail-biter that featured a furious comeback by Mahomes and Kansas City in the second half.

Sunday's game was all about the Buccaneers, as head coach Bruce Arians, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles put on an absolute master class on coaching dominance.

Leftwich's game plan helped put 31 points on the board, while Bowles held Kansas City—the No. 6 scoring team in the regular season—without a touchdown. Of course, the Buccaneers couldn't have won without the performances of several key players—including Brady, who was named Super Bowl MVP for a record fifth time.

Here, we'll examine some of the top fantasy performers from Super Bowl LV and take a look back at some of the key stats and highlights of the game.

  

Super Bowl LV Top Fantasy Performers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

QB Tom Brady: 201 passing yards, 3 TDs

RB Leonard Fournette: 89 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 4 receptions, 46 receiving yards

WR Antonio Brown: 5 receptions, 22 yards, 1 TD

TE Rob Gronkowski: 6 receptions, 67 yards, 2 TDs

   

Kansas City Chiefs

QB Patrick Mahomes: 270 passing yards, 33 rushing yards, 2 INTs

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 64 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 23 receiving yards

WR Tyreek Hill: 7 receptions, 73 yards

TE Travis Kelce: 10 receptions, 133 yards

   

Recap and Highlights

After both teams traded punts to start the game, Kansas City opened the scoring with a field goal on their second possession. The Chiefs' three-point lead quickly dissipated, though, as Brady led the Buccaneers on an eight-play, 65-yard drive capped by a touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski.

BRADY TO GRONK 🚨

First TD of the Super Bowl

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/1TcMFq5Chb

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2021

Kansas City went three-and-out on the ensuing possession but managed to blank the Buccaneers in their next one. A stiff goal-line stand kept running back Ronald Jones II from finding paydirt and kept the Buccaneers lead at just four points.

The @Chiefs make a GOAL LINE STAND. #RunItBack

📺: #SBLV on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/HJtQf5igun pic.twitter.com/IogwjPfj0S

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

Unfortunately, this stand was one of the last highlights Kansas City would produce during the game. The Chiefs added another field goal with 64 seconds before halftime, but that was after a second Gronkowski touchdown catch and before a scoring grab by Antonio Brown helped give the Buccaneers a 21-6 lead at intermission.

Bowles' defense took over in the second half, holding Mahomes and the Chiefs to just three points in the final two quarters. Mahomes was regularly under pressure from the likes of Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh and never found a comfort zone under center.

Kansas City's final points came on the opening play of the third quarter. Mahomes threw an interception on the second drive of the quarter, and a Buccaneers-themed landslide ensured.

Leonard Fournette rushed for a 27-yard touchdown on Tampa's first drive of the half. This helped give Tampa a 28-9 lead that was extended by a Ryan Succop field goal just before the end of quarter No. 3.

Neither team scored in the final period, but the Buccaneers did produce a couple of highlight plays. Suh and Cam Gill combined for a huge sack of Mahomes with just over five minutes remaining that set up a 3rd-and-33 from the 50-yard line.

"I thought he was pushing the pocket all night," Bowles said of Suh, per Buccaneers staff writer Carmen Vitali.

On Kansas City's final possession, Mahomes was intercepted by linebacker Devin White to seal the game.

DEVIN WHITE SEALS IT. #GoBucs #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/nEhpDLqveE

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

A few short plays later, Brady officially put the game to bed with the ball in his hands and his knee on the turf.

   

Notable Stats

0: The number of touchdowns scored by Kansas City on Sunday.

3: The number of Super Bowl teams that have been held without a touchdown.

2: Interceptions thrown by Mahomes, who had only six all year coming into Super Bowl LV.

3: The number of times Mahomes was sacked.

3: The number of passing touchdowns for Brady, all of which came in the first half.

5.1: The yards-per-play average of Kansas City's offense, which averaged 6.3 in the regular season.

7: The number of Super Bowl championships Brady now owns.

6: The number of Super Bowl titles the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots each have. No team has more.

And while not an official stat, here's one that exemplifies just how much of a challenge Mahomes and the Chiefs faced Sunday:

That Todd Bowles defense 🤯 pic.twitter.com/tNecVUM2hT

— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 8, 2021

The good news for Kansas City is that it has the pieces to make another Super Bowl run in 2021. The bad news might be that so do the Buccaneers. For both teams and for the rest of the NFL, it's now on to the offseason.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are your 2020 NFL champions. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl LV on Sunday and, in doing so, brought the city of Tampa its second major championship in the past six months.

The win also marked the seventh Super Bowl victory for quarterback Tom Brady, who left the New England Patriots for the Buccaneers during the offseason. Brady's seven Lombardi Trophies are more than any NFL franchise has in its inventory.

However, Brady showed Sunday night that he isn't getting tired of taking home titles. If anything, he's come to appreciate the experience more by being able to share it with his children.

Brady's children are now old enough to soak in the Super Bowl moment with their dad, which they did following Tampa's victory Sunday night:

Above all, he's still a dad ❤️ #SBLV

(@TomBrady, @Buccaneers) pic.twitter.com/rQ89O2eVwS

— NFL Up (@NFLUpOfficial) February 8, 2021

And Brady made it clear that he's looking to provide more big Super Bowl moments in the future, hopefully as soon as next season.

"We're coming back," Brady said during the CBS postgame broadcast.

Brady isn't the only one planning to return in 2021. Head coach Bruce Arians shut down any uncertainty about his status for next season.

"I ain't going anywhere," he said, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. "I'm trying to get two, and then we'll see."

During the trophy presentation, Arians made it a point to thank his family—including his 95-year-old mother, Catherine Arians—along with his coaching staff and players:

FOR BRUCE. #SBLV@BruceArians | @Buccaneers pic.twitter.com/Totxhgs2u3

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

Arians giving his mother a shout-out was unquestionably one of the most heartwarming moments of the postgame celebration.

There were plenty of fun moments during the postgame celebration too, and it should surprise exactly no one to learn that tight end Rob Gronkowski was responsible for one of them.

During an interview explaining his reasoning for coming out of retirement to join the Bucs, Gronk got hold of one of Leonard Fournette's gloves. His reaction mid-interview was priceless:

"This why I came back. I came back to win a championship. I wasn't just coming out of retirement just to come out, I was coming out to win, to win big."

Rob Gronkowski on winning Super Bowl LV. pic.twitter.com/py3umnBMEc

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) February 8, 2021

Now, it's time for Buccaneers fans and the city of Tampa to celebrate the big win. While Tampa may not hold a traditional parade because of safety measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, mayor Jane Castor assured fans that there is something in the works.

"We definitely will have a safe celebration," Castor said, per Lauren Rozyla of WFTS Tampa. "You can't not celebrate this. It's unbelievable."

Believe it, Buccaneers fans. Your team won Super Bowl LV. Expect Tampa Bay to be back at work soon, trying to make it happen again next season.

Rob Gronkowski has a message to anyone who doubts the TB12 Method: the stuff works.

"People seem mind-blown about Tom at his age," Gronkowski told Peter King of NBC Sports. "I'm not. He has lost no zip on his passes from when I first came in the league. People think he eats crazy, and they question his methods. Well, I'm doing some of his stuff, and all I know is I feel great."

Gronkowski is among several notable players who have taken to training at Tom Brady's TB12 facility and adopted some of the training methods, which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback credits for his longevity.

After retiring in 2019, in large part because of injury issues, Gronkowski returned in 2020 and played a full 16-game slate for the first time since 2011. He seemed in peak form in Sunday's Super Bowl LV victory, reeling in six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns.

                   

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are Super Bowl champions after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 on Sunday.

Quarterback Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl title and fifth Super Bowl MVP award after completing 21-of-29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Tampa has become a city of champions this year, with the Lightning winning the Stanley Cup and the Rays earning the American League pennant.

In typical years, championships would lead to well-attended celebratory parades, but the COVID-19 pandemic has forced cities to either cancel them entirely or adjust them as necessary.

As for the Bucs, the current plans for the team were undecided as of Wednesday, when the game's result was unknown. Mayor Jane Castor issued remarks in a Facebook Live appearance, per Charles Fargo of the Tampa Bay Times on Feb. 4.

"I am not superstitious, but we don't want to take any chances. We aren't planning anything yet," Castor said.

Tampa held a boat parade for the Lightning, with WFLA 8 noting that it occurred across the Hillsborough River.

Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Bucs and this year's Super Bowl, hosted a fan rally two days afterward.

The celebration did not come without COVID-19 concerns and notes about how to adjust in the future, per Castor.

“That was an exciting event for our community, but we did learn a lot about spreading out of the fans," Castor said, per Fargo.

"We didn't know as much about the outdoor rates of contagion as we do now. So we certainly will plan celebrations that are very, very safe."

Fargo set the scene for what went down during the Lightning celebration:

"Crowds gathered along the city's Riverwalk to watch Castor and Lightning players motor by in boats on the Hillsborough River. Not everyone socially distanced or wore masks.

"When players got off the boats at Rick's on the River, video showed fans drinking out of the Stanley Cup."

Castor has notably issued an outdoor mask mandate that runs through Saturday, which presumably would be after any Bucs celebration is held. Castor spokeswoman Ashley Bauman confirmed that would be the case for any celebration involving the Bucs, who would be involved in the planning.

At any rate, the weather appears to be spectacular for a boat parade, with WTSP-TV meteorologist Bobby Deskins providing an outlook:

CHAMPA BAY: The hits keep on coming as even Mother Nature rewards Tampa. The polar vortex releases really cold air this week, but it doesn't look like it'll make it to town. Instead, we will be in the 75-80 degree range & great weather for a @Buccaneers Boat Parade this week! pic.twitter.com/zEIs64nYfT

— Bobby Deskins WTSP ⚡️ (@BobbyWTSP) February 8, 2021

Still, no parade would come without serious risk, and University of South Florida public health professor Dr. Jay Wolfson expressed concerns that the event could be held safely after seeing what happened when the Lightning celebrated, per Fargo:

"The street turned into a fraternity party. That’s what we have to avoid, but I don’t know that we can. It’s hard to control large groups of excited, celebratory fans who naturally want to come together to celebrate.

"People see this as a one-time, just for now, we’ve earned it, type of thing. But it creates a petri dish for community spread."

There is one certainty, however: The traditional Super Bowl victory parade down Main Street at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World has been called off due to the pandemic, per the Tampa Bay Times.

Regardless of when and how the Bucs celebrate, they are Super Bowl champions for the second time in franchise history after an emphatic win over last year's NFL title winners.

Two years ago, Rob Gronkowski was the subject of retirement speculation. He spent nearly an hour soaking up the postgame celebration on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and looked like a player who was very much physically, mentally and emotionally spent. He took a brutal hit to his right quad during the Patriots victory and could barely put weight on that leg. As he slowly dressed in the locker room, he didn't have the strength to lift his leg up on his own to put his shoes on. He had to resort to using his hands to pull up his stiff right leg to slip on his white Nike sneakers. 

One month after he won that third Super Bowl ring, in March 2019, the veteran tight end retired.

In his 13 months away from the game, Gronk seemed happy, and most of all, healthy. After nine seasons playing an extremely physical brand of football, Gronk let his body take a break. He lost weight and he partnered with a medical marijuana firm to create a line of CBD products that helped relieve his pain. He hosted a giant beach party in Miami for Super Bowl LIV, he hosted WrestleMania, and he performed the song "I'm Too Sexy" for an episode of The Masked Singer. He looked every bit like a guy who was really, really enjoying his time off. 

A year after he twerked on the sand in neon shorts at his Super Bowl party, Gronk was back on the field, this time catching two touchdown passes in the Buccaneers' 31-9 victory. He had six catches for 67 yards in the game, and as always, his blocking was key to setting up running plays. Gronkowski has now caught five touchdown passes in five Super Bowl appearances in his career (he missed one in New England due to injury). In Gronk's 10 NFL seasons, his teams have always made it at least to the divisional round of the playoffs.

The talk of this game will surround Tom Brady's legacy as the winner of seven Super Bowl rings, as well as another Super Bowl MVP, or defensive coordinator Todd Bowles' masterful performance in holding the Chiefs without a touchdown, but Gronkowski deserves as much credit. 

As Jim Nantz said on the CBS broadcast, most people go to Florida to retire. Gronk went to Florida to un-retire. Very few players officially retire from the game while still at their peak, when they are still wanted. And even fewer players un-retire.

But when his quarterback signed with Tampa Bay, Gronk had the leverage to force New England to trade his rights to the Buccaneers, the only team he would come out of retirement to play for. 

Gronk's first touchdown came on a clever play design. As he described to SiriusXM Radio postgame, in previous plays, he had set the stage for the Chiefs to expect him to wrap (pull inside and block up a defender). He said he's wrapped a thousand times in his career, and "I never leak out on that—never, never." Gronk lined up on the outside foot of the right tackle and pulled inside across the formation. But this time, he leaked out to look for the ball. Brady found him wide open for a touchdown. 

His second touchdown was actually an improvisational route that Gronk credited to his relationship with Brady. He said he had a corner route on the play and thought he was going to get the ball but the ball wasn't even in the air yet, so he improvised. "I planted and I did a U-turn and Tom saw it and he hit me," he told SiriusXM. "That goes back to the chemistry we built during our whole career."

Gronk had seven touchdowns on the season but he hadn't scored in the Buccaneers' previous four games. His 623 regular-season yards are nowhere near his career high of 1,327, or even 2017's 1,084 yards. He described his role this season as "a small big part." And he's exactly right. In some games this season, Gronkowski had a small role, or mainly a blocking role, but in the biggest game and the biggest moment, his connection with Brady mattered most. With the Lombardi Trophy on the line, Brady went to the guy he knows the best.

"You never know with this offense who is going to get the ball and make the plays," Gronkowski said. "We have so many superstars on this team, but no one's head was ever too big this year. Whoever got the ball, got the ball. ... It just happened to be me this time."

Gronk played 20 games this season, the most in his career, but he's still feeling great. His year off clearly rejuvenated him. He said postgame that he's going to remain un-retired and will hit free agency for the first time in his career. He wants to come back to Tampa, a city that he said fits his laid-back, T-shirt and sandals vibes. "I see myself coming back," he said. "I don't see why I won't be back."

Gronk's attitude and health now are a far cry from where he was two years ago, when he hobbled out of the Patriots locker room. "I remember after that win, I was so done coming off of the field," he told reporters postgame. "I was like, I am just glad it's over, the pain I was in too. It felt great to be a champ, but it felt great to be done." 

Now, Gronk is simply feeling great. He reunited with his quarterback, and in their first season playing for a different franchise, they won the Super Bowl. Again. 

"It's hands down one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history," Gronkowski told reporters after the game. 

When Brady raised the Lombardi Trophy on the celebration stage, he said there'll be more of these. Gronk plans to be right there by his side, and now that they've done it again, it's hard to argue that there won't be more where that came from. 

Kalyn Kahler covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow her on Twitter for NFL musings and thoughts: @KalynKahler.

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The future looks extremely bright for tight end Rob Gronkowski. 

Not only did he earn his fourth Super Bowl title on Sunday with a 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, but he's finally about to hit free agency and has no plans to retire again. After one year away from the league, it appears Gronk is here to stay a bit longer.

It's just a matter of where he ends up playing next. 

"I'll remain unretired," Gronkowski told reporters. "I'm a free agent for the first time in my career. I definitely see myself coming back [to Tampa Bay]. ... I'm gonna soak this in and see where I'm at in a couple weeks, but I don't see why not."

The 31-year-old proved himself as valuable as ever by catching a team-high six passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. 

The former Arizona Wildcats star earned a base salary of $9 million this year as he wraps up a six-year, $54 million deal he originally signed with the New England Patriots. It's unclear what his market value looks like going into this offseason, but it seems obvious he's destined for another payday. 

In 16 regular-season games, Gronkowski was on the field for 75 percent of Tampa's offensive snaps, caught 45 passes and scored seven touchdowns. 

Considering quarterback Tom Brady said he has no plans to retire after winning his NFL-record seventh title, it seems more likely than not the QB will push to keep his longtime tight end right alongside him in the Bucs' huddle. 

It'll be extremely difficult for anyone to convince him of a better option.

Brady and Gronkowski set an NFL postseason record for the most touchdown passes between a quarterback and a receiver with their 13th and 14th on Sunday, besting the record of 12 set by San Francisco 49ers legends Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. 

As long as that connection remains strong, there's no reason for either player to look elsewhere. 

Nobody will accuse Rob Gronkowski of underselling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday's Super Bowl, or at least not his role in it.  

The tight end was asked about the journey he and Tom Brady took from the New England Patriots to Tampa Bay just to win another Super Bowl and said, "It's hands down one of the greatest accomplishments in sports history."

Gronkowski retired after the 2018 season with the New England Patriots and was arguably the best tight end in NFL history at that moment as a three-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Pro Bowler and four-time First Team All-Pro selection with four seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards and five seasons of double-digit touchdowns on his resume.

He could have easily stayed retired and waited for his inevitable enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, but he decided to join Brady on the Buccaneers for another run at a championship.

While he wasn't nearly as effective in 2020 as he was in his prime with 45 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns, he saved his best performance for the biggest moment and tallied six catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's Super Bowl win.

Both touchdowns came in the first half as Tampa Bay gradually pulled away and never looked back, and the second one was particularly important because it gave his team momentum back after the Chiefs notched a goal-line stand on the previous Buccaneers possession.

Gronkowski also further cemented his legacy by joining Jerry Rice as the only players with multiple touchdown catches in multiple Super Bowls in NFL history. What's more, Brady and Gronkowski passed Rice and Joe Montana for the most touchdown connections for a quarterback and receiver in postseason history with 13.

Doing so when Brady is 43 years old and Gronkowski missed an entire season because he was retired is quite the accomplishment.

One of the best ever, in fact, in the tight end's eyes.

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Super Bowl LV has come to a close. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in what was billed as a battle of two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever grace an NFL field.

Ultimately, the battle proved to be a one-sided affair. Brady played an efficient brand of football—though he certainly made some incredible plays—while Mahomes was consistently battered by the Buccaneers' vaunted pass rush.

As is usually the case in a game of this magnitude, much was decided by a few impact plays and pivotal moments. Here, we'll take a look back at how the game unfolded and where some of those game-changing plays entered the equation.

The action got off to a relatively slow start, as the Chiefs and Buccaneers traded scoreless possessions before Kansas City got on the board with a field goal. Brady and the Buccaneers answered with a touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski just before the end of the quarter.

BRADY TO GRONK 🚨

First TD of the Super Bowl

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/1TcMFq5Chb

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2021

Remarkably, this marked the first touchdown of Brady's career to occur in the first quarter of a Super Bowl. In fact, in his nine previous trips to the big game, Brady's teams had scored a total of three points in the first quarter.

"Hard to explain why or why not that hasn't happened," Brady said ahead of Sunday's game, per Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk. "I'm sure they're all a lot of individual things, why that's happened or not."

The next pivotal point came on Tampa's next drive, where the team drove down to the Kansas City goal line. However, the Chiefs defense stood up Ronald Jones II on fourth down, putting an end to Tampa's drive and giving Mahomes and Co. new life.

The @Chiefs make a GOAL LINE STAND. #RunItBack

📺: #SBLV on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/HJtQf5igun pic.twitter.com/IogwjPfj0S

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

Unfortunately, Kansas City didn't go far offensively—due in part to a rare Travis Kelce drop—then committed a couple of huge special teams mishaps.

Dreadful mistakes in the kicking game for KC. First a dropped snap leads to a hold which negates a terrific punt and brings about a total shank.

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) February 8, 2021

The mistakes continued for Kansas City, as a defensive holding call wiped out a Tyrann Mathieu interception. The Patriots were set to capitalize with a Ryan Succop field goal, but another penalty—this one offsides—extended that drive.

The end result was another strike from Brady to Gronkowski for six points and ultimately a 14-3 second-quarter lead. And by a strike, we do mean a strike.

Vintage Gronk. Wow.

(via @nfl) pic.twitter.com/yyeQGkcZqs

— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) February 8, 2021

During the lead-up to Super Bowl LV, Brady mentioned to ESPN's Ian O'Connor that he's considering playing long past his previous goal of 45 years old. Throws like the one Brady made on Gronkowski's second touchdown show exactly why he believes this.

Kansas City took back some momentum on its following drive, but heavy pressure prevented Mahomes from finding a target in the end zone. Instead, the Chiefs were forced to settle for a 34-yard field goal from Harrison Butker.

This was, at least, enough to pull Kansas City within a score.

On Tampa's ensuing drive, the Buccaneers benefited from a pass-interference call on a deep shot from Brady to Mike Evans. This quickly set up the Buccaneers with an opportunity within field-goal range.

Mathieu was then called for pass interference in the end zone, giving the Buccaneers an even better opportunity with just 10 seconds and zero timeouts. This time, Brady found Antonio Brown for a one-yard touchdown.

That was a dirty route by AB. Whew.

— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) February 8, 2021

At this point, frustration appeared to be setting in for the Chiefs, as Mathieu was called for unsportsmanlike conduct following the score. Naturally, a 21-6 deficit was not where Andy Reid's team thought it would be at halftime.

While Kansas City didn't have momentum heading into the break, the team picked up some just after halftime when Clyde Edwards-Helaire ripped off a 26-yard run. It was, to that point, easily the biggest play for the Chiefs.

Edwards-Helaire added a 10-yard run on the drive and helped push the Chiefs to the edge of field-goal range. However, pressure once again flushed Mahomes from the pocket and helped force an incompletion.

Yet again, the Chiefs were forced to settle for three points. This time, Butker nailed a 52-yarder to bring the score to 21-9.

Tampa answered right back, though. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo appeared a little more comfortable pressuring Brady on the drive, and Tampa countered by leaning on short passes and running back Leonard Fournette.

Fournette capped the six-play drive with a 27-yard touchdown run.

SUPER BOWL LENNY TD 🚨

This is wild.

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/Yc5hM7pfTj

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2021

By midway through the third quarter, Tampa Bay had a 28-9 lead. Things didn't get any easier for Kansas City on its next drive. Shaquil Barrett sacked Mahomes, setting up 3rd-and-long. On the next play, a tipped ball landed in the arms of Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Within real-time minutes of their last score, the Buccaneers were back on offense with the ball in Chiefs territory.

Tampa threatened to reach the end zone again, but this time, the ball did bounce Kansas City's way. A bad snap from Buccaneers center Ryan Jensen on third down pushed them out of striking distance and into deep field-goal range.

Ryan Succop managed to make the 52-yarder to make the score 31-9, but things could easily have been worse for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs entered the fourth quarter inside Tampa Bay's 30-yard line, but it was clear by that point that Mahomes toe injury was a factor. His mobility wasn't what it was before he suffered the injury in the divisional round.

Combined with the absence of left tackle Eric Fisher (Achilles), Kansas City was struggling to find answers for Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul and the Buccaneers pass rush.

Yet, Mahomes showed that he wasn't going to surrender on 3rd-and-9 inside the 20. He bought time in the pocket, loaded up and nearly made a phenomenal play to put a touchdown on the board. His heave into the end zone fell incomplete, but just barely—and it was nevertheless an incredible display of Mahomes' talents.

Greatest incompletion of all time?

— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) February 8, 2021

Kansas City, though, had no choice but to go for it on 4th-and-9 and failed to convert.

The Chiefs were able to force a punt on Tampa's next drive—the first time they had done so since the opening quarter—but the Bucs were able to bleed the game clock down to just over eight minutes.

Following the punt, Kansas City needed to go more than 90 yards. After a quick strike pushed the Chiefs past the 40, though, another sack set up 2nd-and-18. A roughing-the-passer penalty on Pierre-Paul gave the Chiefs another chance on the very next play.

A few plays later, Kansas City was within striking distance again, but a huge sac from Ndamukong Suh put the Chiefs in a 3rd-and-33 situation back near the 50-yard line.

The Chiefs failed to convert, but a taunting penalty on Winfield set up Tampa Bay deep in its own territory to start the drive.

Winfield gave a completely unnecessary peace sign to Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill, who burned the Buccaneers in the regular season but was held largely in check to this point in the game. Hill finished the game with 73 yards on seven receptions, a far cry from his 269-yard, three-touchdown outing against Tampa in Week 12.

https://twitter.com/benbbaldwin/status/1358610242746150913

A quick three-and-out for the Buccaneers gave Kansas City another chance with less than four minutes remaining, but at this point, the game was all but over. It was over by the end of the drive, as Mahomes was picked off in the end zone by Devin White.

Brady ended the game with the ball in his hands and his knee on the ground, wrapping up the 31-9 victory and winning his seventh Lombardi Trophy.

Seven rings.

What else can you say?

🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 @brgridiron pic.twitter.com/QZkJuPTybE

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 8, 2021

Brady finished the game a crisp 21-of-29 for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Mahomes went 26-of-49 for 270 yards with two interceptions. A year after the young gun was named Super Bowl MVP, Brady won the award for the fifth time in his career.

"We're coming back," Brady said during the CBS postgame process.

Given Brady's long history of striving for championships, he and head coach Bruce Arians will likely soon have the Buccaneers setting their sights on some highlight moments in next year's Super Bowl.

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers corrected the defensive mistakes that were made in Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs to capture Super Bowl 55. 

Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles dialed up a terrific game plan that put Patrick Mahomes under pressure and took Tyreek Hill out of the contest. 

Tampa Bay's offense took advantage of the defensive showing and opened up a double-digit gap on the scoreboard by halftime. 

The Buccaneers' continued dominance in the second half allowed Tom Brady to have the largest margin of victory of his seven Super Bowl triumphs. 

The 22-point margin of victory was seven points shy of the combined margins of Brady's six previous victories, five of which were by six points or less. 

Brady finished with fewer passing yards than Patrick Mahomes, but he was more effective with the passes he threw. The full Super Bowl 55 box score can be found here. 

     

Box Score Analysis

Brady recorded his second-lowest passing yard total in a Super Bowl on Sunday. 

The seven-time Super Bowl champion finished 21-of-29 with 201 yards and three touchdowns. The lowest passing yard total in a title game occurred in his first Super Bowl appearance. 

In Brady's illustrious career, he only threw for three touchdowns once while throwing for less than 215 yards in a postseason game. On that occurrence, he also had 201 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2006.

Patrick Mahomes was projected to go neck-and-neck with Brady for four quarters, but instead, he failed to throw a touchdown pass for only the fourth time in his career. 

Mahomes was sacked three times, intercepted twice and pressured out of the pocket on countless other occasions by the Tampa Bay defense. 

Devin White led the Bucs with 12 tackles and two tackles for loss. Ndamukong Suh had 1.5 sacks. Shaquil Barrett totaled four quarterback hits. White and Antoine Winfield Jr. picked off Mahomes once each. 

Tampa Bay's defense limited Kansas City to three points in each of the first three quarters. The only time in which Hill and Travis Kelce were effective was in the fourth quarter, when the Chiefs attempted a comeback. 

Hill recorded 73 receiving yards on seven catches, which was a steep drop off from the 269 yards he recorded in Week 12 at Raymond James Stadium.

Kelce outplayed Rob Gronkowski from a yardage standpoint, 133-67, but the Bucs tight end made more of an impact with a pair of touchdown catches in the first half. 

Gronkowski became the second player in Super Bowl history with multiple two-touchdown games. Jerry Rice was the only player to achieve that feat before Sunday, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Although Gronkowski and White shined in the victory, Brady captured the Most Valuable Player award. It was his fifth Super Bowl MVP award and the first MVP won by a quarterback in five Super Bowls to be played in Tampa, Florida.

        

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com and Pro Football Reference.

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Celebrate the champions. Shop now.

Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl title Sunday when he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs.   

And while he didn't do it as a member of the New England Patriots, the team and his former teammates congratulated their 20-year quarterback on the victory. 

Congratulations to the greatest of all time.

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) February 8, 2021

💍 💍 💍 💍
💍 💍 💍
Cant stop. Wont stop.
The best ever in all sports.

— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) February 8, 2021

✋✌️ pic.twitter.com/ZvavkgoL0w

— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) February 8, 2021

Everybody said this was a passing of the torch ... Tommy like nah I’m about to win 7!! That’s wild! Congrats goat!! @TomBrady

— Kyle Van Noy (@KVN_03) February 8, 2021

TB mfn 12!!! Respect that Man!!!!

— JB (@NVBentley33) February 8, 2021

TB12 🐐

— James White (@SweetFeet_White) February 8, 2021

🐐 🐐 🐐

— Devin&Jason McCourty (@McCourtyTwins) February 8, 2021

https://twitter.com/Wino/status/1358615121287815169

While New England missed the postseason for the first time since 2008, Sunday's game felt like a Patriots Super Bowl. Brady threw for 201 yards and found two former Patriots on the receiving end of three touchdown passes: Rob Gronkowski caught two, and Antonio Brown added another to help win the title.