Super Bowl 55 preview: 5 keys to watch for
In Super Bowl 55, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are five keys to keep in mind come Sunday night.
5. Kansas City’s ball control
The Chiefs only turned the ball over 16 times during the regular season. In the playoffs, they have given the ball away once in each contest. So, if the average holds, the Buccaneers can expect to get one turnover. This is going to be a fascinating pivot where the game could turn. If Kansas City keeps the ball tucked away, Tampa is in a tough spot. However, multiple turnovers and the game swings wildly towards the home team.
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4. Are the Bucs able to get to 30+ points?
If the Buccaneers are going to beat the Chiefs, it’s going to be with a ton of points. Kansas City’s only real loss this year (forget about Week 17 and the backups) came against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5. In that tilt, the Chiefs scored 32 — and had two touchdowns taken off the board for penalties — but lost because they relinquished 40 points. Tampa Bay needs to get into the 30s, if not higher.
3. Can Kansas City guard Tampa Bay’s receivers in man coverage?
Steve Spagnuolo is the Chiefs defensive coordinator, and he loves to bring the heat. Kansas City is top 10 in blitz percentage for the regular season and it has been dialing up pressure throughout the postseason. Assuming this stays true against the Bucs, look for the Chiefs to trust their corners, specifically L’Jarius Sneed, Bashaud Breeland and Charvarius Ward, in man coverage against Mike Evans, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin. Can they hold up?
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2. Will the Chiefs blitz Brady often?
And we go a bit further into this conversation. When the teams played in Week 12, Spagnuolo brought pressure on almost half the snaps, and it largely worked. The Chiefs won 27-24 but were leading 27-10 in the fourth quarter, all while forcing Brady into two interceptions. Despite the pressure of the Super Bowl, will Spagnuolo just keep bringing heat?
1. Do the Bucs get pressure on Mahomes?
This is the game. This is it. If the Bucs can win with their front four, they have a shot to upset the defending champions. If not, it becomes very hard to find a path for Tampa Bay, even with Brady at the controls. Should Mahomes have ample time to throw to Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman, he’s going to go off.
