Chiefs or Bucs? Brady or Mahomes?
Who will win Super Bowl LV?
Kansas City is looking for back-to-back Lombardi Trophies while Tom Brady is looking for his seventh ring, and first with Tampa Bay.
WWL Radio’s resident pro's Bobby Hebert, Zach Strief, and Deuce McAllister weighed in with their thoughts and picks for the game.
Here’s what they had to say:
Bobby Hebert: “I think Tampa has a chance, but I don't know if they'll win. If Tampa Bay gets off to a great start, they have a good chance to win. Kansas City doesn't have to get off to a fast start, because of Patrick Mahomes’ demonstrated ability to bring his team back from big deficits.
Tampa has to try and run the football. The Chiefs are going to win because they are just the better team. It's hard to go against Tom Brady, too many times people get burned going against that guy. I'm changing my own mind. I'm going with Tom Brady and the Bucs to win this game. I've learned my lesson about picking against the GOAT.
Deuce McAllister: Can Kansas City protect Patrick Mahomes? Right now they might be down four starters on the offensive line. That's a lot of shuffling. The strength of Tampa Bay is their front seven. It gets to the point that the Chiefs have so many back ups on the offensive line, I just wonder if they can overcome that. Mahomes is special, but at some point talent starts to matter. With all that said, I still like the Chiefs to win this game. They just have too much talent. Yeah, Tom Brady has been on this big stage, but the rest of his Tampa teammates aside from Rob Gronkowski have not been in this big of a game. I think it will be a close one, but the Chiefs will make just one more play to win the game over the Buccaneers.
Zach Strief: The story of this game, in my opinion, lies in the pass rush. The Chiefs are in a precarious position with the state of their offensive line. Down both starting tackles, the Chiefs will look to Mike Remmers (former Panther) and Andrew Wylie to protect Mahomes. If Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett win consistently, it makes like hard on the Chiefs offense.
Even with Mahomes mobility, you’re talking about a breakdown across the board for the offensive line. The officiating has allowed the Bucs to be extremely physical at the line of scrimmage and inside the routes defensively and the combination of the pass rush and the disrupted timing has beaten both the Saints and Packers.
On the other side of the ball, the Bucs have done a much better job protecting Brady, starting with a stronger attention to the run game. The Chiefs’ defensive weakness is defending the run. If the Bucs can continue to effectively run the football, the weapons on the outside will continue to win. If the run game struggles, and the protection breaks down, Brady isn’t equipped at this point in his career to beat Mahomes. If the run game produces and Brady can use the play action effectively like they have the first three playoff games, they’ll continue to effectively move the football.
I’ve gone back and forth on the game. Trying to take my personal desires out of the equation, I’ve come to this. Mahomes is the best player in football and he surrounded by immense talent. However, the Bucs’ front seven is the best he will have seen in the playoffs thus far. They have been in a LOT of close games down the stretch, but I don’t like the matchup for the Chiefs in critical situations with the situation up front. I think it comes down to the wire, and the Bucs’ advantage in the trenches wins the day. Bucs 27-24 (reciprocal of the first matchup).
