And the winner is … the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! The Tom Brady-led team beat Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Sunday, February 7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Both teams put on a show, with each quarterback highlighting their skills, but ultimately Rob Gronkowski helped the Buccaneers triumph with a score of 31-9 to take home the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Brady, for his part, also received his fifth Super Bowl MVP Award — and promised that he will be “coming back” next season.
It was a hard-fought battle on both sides of the field after an unprecedented season for the NFL in 2020 and 2021, which was affected by the coronavirus pandemic restrictions and new safety guidelines.
Before naming a champion, fans were treated to a halftime performance from The Weeknd, who followed in 2020’s headliners Jennifer Lopez and Shakira’s footsteps.
Sports lovers also watched a duet from country crooner Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan before kickoff, when they sang the national anthem.
Leading up to Super Bowl LV, there was a lot of hype about both teams — specifically the star power of their quarterbacks.
Mahomes, 25, was playing for his second Super Bowl title in two years in hopes of taking home the victory in both 2020 and 2021. The win would have marked the Chiefs’ third in franchise history.
Brady, 43, on the other hand, broke a few records before even walking into the stadium. He is the oldest quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, which is a title he already held when appearing in Super Bowl 2019. His win this year again break his own record as the oldest QB to be victorious in the big game.
The California native, who left the New England Patriots in March 2020, is the greatest quarterback in NFL history, with six Super Bowl wins as the leader of the Pats heading into Sunday’s game. He has now appeared in 10 Super Bowl games — nine with New England and one with Tampa Bay.
The rivalry between Mahomes and Brady has been going on for years, with the Chiefs and Patriots battling it out to be the leader of the AFC division on more than one occasion. The players have faced each other five times now — and were split with two wins each before Super Bowl LV.
Their fifth run-in was a first for the league, with the two previous Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks — Mahomes led his team to the title in 2020 and Brady helped the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams in 2019 — playing each other for the honor of Super Bowl champion.
The game was also the first time a team has played in their home stadium for the coveted trophy with the Bucs having home-field advantage playing in Tampa, Florida. Plus, the Chiefs are not set to play the Bucs again in the regular season until 2024, which means they may never battle it out on the field again — depending on when Brady retires.
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