Super Bowl LV: Position-by-Position Breakdown - Which Team Has the Edge?

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by Julian Spivey
Super Bowl LV has the makings of an instant classic, especially with the quarterback matchup featuring the greatest of all-time Tom Brady for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the greatest in the game today Patrick Mahomes for the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady is in his record 10th Super Bowl. Mahomes is in his second straight trying to lead the Chiefs to being the first back-to-back champions since Brady’s New England Patriots almost two decades ago.
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Let’s just say if this game only manages to be just good, it might actually be a letdown. But where do these two teams stack up on paper? Where are the advantages for each squad? Let’s find out …

Quarterback:
As I said in the opening paragraph Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T. and Patrick Mahomes is the greatest currently in the game. Brady has way more experience in the big game, but the 25-year old Mahomes already has a championship ring of his own and did so in dramatic comeback fashion last year against the San Francisco 49ers, as he and his team seem accustomed to doing. Brady simply does not have big game jitters and it truly doesn’t seem Mahomes does either. So, does the advantage go to the old veteran or the young buck? I have to go with Mahomes just based on being the best the game has right now. Mahomes is also the single most talented player I’ve ever seen in more than two decades of watching the NFL. He does stuff on the field nobody else does. Maybe Brady and the Buccaneers will outsmart Mahomes, but we’ll have to wait for Sunday to find out.

Edge: Chiefs

Running Back:
I’m honestly not sure what to do here … this one is so close. In doing research for this article, I’ve looked at breakdowns from multiple experts and they seem just as torn on which team has the edge at running back as I do. Some have said the Chiefs, while other prefer the Buccaneers. If I’m going on season-long advantages I choose the Chiefs whose standout rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a terrific season rushed for 803 yards and likely would’ve topped 1,000 without a hip and ankle injury, that kept him out of the team’s first playoff game before he returned against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game in which he only had six carries for seven yards, though did score a touchdown. The Buccaneers have been using a tandem of Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones that’s worked well for the, especially in the playoffs with Fournette particularly, who has scored touchdown in all three of the Buccs playoff games thus far. I also have to worry about a rookie like Edwards-Helaire possibly having hitters. I’m going to lean toward Tampa Bay having the advantage here.

Edge: Buccaneers

Wide Receivers:
The Chiefs number one receiver Tyreek Hill is the most talented receiver in this game. I’m confident in that. Potentially the fastest receiver in the league Hill completely alters defenses and had a huge year with 17 touchdowns and 1,399 yards from scrimmage. But the Buccaneers receiver corps in general is better than the Chiefs as a whole. The Buccs leading receiver Mike Evans had his seventh consecutive 1,000 yard receiving season this year. The Buccs’ no. 2 guy Chris Godwin had seven touchdowns and 840 receiving yards in 12 games, whereas the Chiefs no. 2 guy Sammy Watkins hasn’t played yet in the playoffs due to a calf injury but hopes to suit up for the big game despite having limited practice. The Buccs third option at receiver is Antonio Brown, one of the game’s most talented receivers when he’s not letting his mouth and ego get in the way. He’s got a bit of the injury bug himself having missed the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers with a knee injury but should be good to go. Mecole Hardman can break some big plays for K.C. with his speed, so he could be a guy to watch.

Edge: Buccaneers

Tight End:
Travis Kelce is the best tight end in the NFL. I really don’t even think it’s close at the moment either. He’s Mahomes no. 1 target at all times and even with defenses knowing this full-well going into games he’s rarely ever stopped. Kelce’s 1,416 receiving yards this season are the most all-time for a tight end. Buccaneers tight end Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement to re-team with Brady this season, is a no-brainer hall of famer once his career is done for real, but he seems to be playing more of a blocking role for the Buccs this season. Cameron Brate seemed to be Brady’s main tight end target in the playoffs, but a back injury has him limited.

Edge: Chiefs

Offensive Line:
The biggest gap at any position between the Chiefs and Buccaneers seems to be at offensive line. The Chiefs have been decimated by players on the O-Line opting out of the season due to COVID-19 and injury, with their Pro Bowl tackle Eric Fisher going down to a torn Achilles in the AFC Championship. The Buccaneers have the advantage everywhere on the O-Line, except for maybe right guard where veteran Stefan Wisniewski is holding down the fort. Patrick Mahomes might be doing an awful lot of scrambling in the big game, which he seems really adept at but after suffering a concussion in the Chiefs first playoff game is probably something fans of the team don’t want to see much. Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul and others are definitely going to be gunning for him knowing the state the Chiefs O-Line is currently in. It might even be one of the biggest stories of the game.

Edge: Buccaneers

Defense:
The defenses of the Buccaneers and Chiefs are remarkably close, which could definitely make for a close game. The Buccs had the ninth best defense in the league this season when it came to giving up points allowing 22.3 per game. How close are the Chiefs? They were tenth in the league allowing 22.4. Yeah, it’s that close. The Buccaneers have a better defensive line led by Ndamukong Suh, though the Chief’s defensive end Frank Clark is an imposing figure too. The Buccs also have a better linebacking corp. So, Tampa has the advantage when it comes to trying to get to the quarterback and stopping the run game. The Chiefs have the advantage in the secondary, led by veteran safety Tyrann Mathieu, which is good for them because the Buccs are such a threat in the passing game. I hate ties, but occasionally they happen in the NFL (but not the Super Bowl, of course), but I can’t give one of the defenses an edge over the other.

Edge: Push

Special Teams:
Chiefs return man Mecole Hardman is one of the fastest guys in the league and could be exciting to watch. He’ll definitely have to keep his nerves under wraps though, he had a huge muffed punt in the AFC Championship against Buffalo that gave the Bills an advantage early. When it comes to the kicking game Harrison Butker for K.C. is one of the best in the game with one of the biggest legs – though sometimes gets the yips on the chip-shots. Ryan Succop, who used to play for the Chiefs, had one of the best seasons of his career for the Buccaneers going 28-for-31 in field goal attempts. I don’t expect either Butker or Succop to have any big issues.

Edge: Chiefs

Coach:
What a year for the old guys, right? Bruce Arians of the Buccaneers is the third oldest coach in the NFL at 67 (behind 69-year old Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks and 68-year old Bill Belichick of the Patriots). Andy Reid is the fifth oldest coach in the league at almost 63. These guys have been around the block a time or two. This will be Reid’s third Super Bowl in his coaching career (he’s 1-1). It’ll be Arians’ Super Bowl debut as a head coach, though he was an assistant in two with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have to go with Reid for the edge though simply because he’s won the big game before (just last year).

Edge: Chiefs

It’s interesting to note that this will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. They met up in week 12 and it was a doozy of a game with the Chiefs winning 27-24. The Chiefs dominated time of possession in that game by more than 13 minutes but couldn’t put the game away as the Buccaneers roared almost all the way back scoring 14 in the fourth quarter.

Prediction:
One of the hardest things to do in sports these days is seemingly win back-to-back Super Bowls, but the Chiefs have, in my opinion (and I realized how the Steelers began the regular season), have been the best team in the league all year and the team to beat. I’m expecting (or at least really hoping) for a tight game all the way through and it might come down to a big play or two late, but I think the Chiefs are going to repeat.

Chiefs over Buccaneers 

​Super Bowl LV is Sunday, February 7 at 5:30 p.m. central standard time on CBS. 

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