SPORTS MARCH 11-12, 2021 Bucs win Super Bowl in NFL playoffs

By: Gavin McAferty

The NFL postseason always rakes in a huge amount of views and money, which is why Super Bowl commercials and other advertisements concerning the playoffs cost so much. Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic every game was still held on time and there were no impactful COVID cases. This season consisted of a different playoff bracket though. They added another seed to both conferences and adjusted it to where only the first seed got a first round bye. Although this was a different looking season compared to others it was still fun to watch nonetheless.

Wild Card weekend was somewhat entertaining. Josh Allen continued to display his MVP caliber season by accounting for 378 of the Bills’ 397 yards. Allen threw for 324 yards and a TD while also rushing for 54 yards and another TD. Aaron Donald and the Rams’ defense dominated Wilson and completely shut down their offense. Offensively, Cam Akers carried them to a win. Jared Goff was playing with a recovering thumb and still managed to secure the win. The Washington Football Team was nothing short of a Cinderella story, not only did they squeeze into the playoffs with a horrible record, they also started a quarterback who hadn’t played all season, Taylor Heinicke, and he balled out. Heinicke threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown, along with a rushing touchdown. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to dethrone the goat, Tom Brady, who took over the game and led them to victory. After three years, dual threat quarterback Lamar Jackson finally overcame the speculation that he couldn’t win in the playoffs, earning his first postseason win ever. The Ravens wanted to win badly because the previous year they lost to the Titans, and Jackson wasn’t going to let them get the chance to win again. Jackson threw for 179 yards while also rushing for 137 yards.

Photo by Ashley Landis Buccaneers players Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski pose for a photo after their Super Bowl LV win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bucs dominated the game, winning 31-9. Following a game-sealing pick from Marcus Peters all of the players gathered on the Titans logo and stomped on it. Pettiness is almost always entertaining in the NFL and there seems to be a hateful rivalry forming between these two teams. Following an easy New Orleans Saints win was the somewhat shocking performance from the Cleveland Browns. They came out strong and picked off Ben Roethlisberger three times and took an encouraging 28-0 lead, which is ironic considering their secondary was labeled as horrid by the mainstream media. Although it wasn’t a good day for Steelers fans, Browns fans celebrated their first playoff win since 1994. The Divisional Round was all over the place, many teams dealt with injuries and blowouts. The Packers and Aaron Rodgers steam rolled the Rams and advanced, the Rams just didn’t show up. The Ravens had quite the devastating game, all the momentum shifted following Taron Johnson picking off Lamar Jackson and returning it 101 yards for a touchdown late in the game. Then Jackson got injured and all hope was lost. One of the most entertaining games was the Browns against the Chiefs. The Chiefs gained a 19-3 lead and then Patrick Mahomes went out with a concussion. With Mahomes out, the Chiefs turned to Chad Henne who came in clutch with a fourth-and-1 conversion that iced the game. Following the game, Patrick Mahomes tweeted “#Hennethingispossible”. Drew Brees lost in horrible fashion to Tom Brady, throwing three picks and playing abysmally. Conference Championships had a lot of context and the theme in the AFC was young stars and vice versa in the NFC. After gaining a commanding 28-10 lead over the Buccaneers, the Packers rallied back to 31-23 and could have taken the lead had Rodgers ran or threw it to the right receiver in the endzone but instead he force fed Devante Adams in double coverage and the Packer took a field goal then allowed the Buccaneers to convert, Rodgers watched his MVP season become a thing of the past. Many believed the Chiefs-Bills matchup would be good, but the truth is that the Bills lost when they ran a different defensive scheme and allowed Mahomes to have his way. The Super Bowl was an interesting story. Tampa Bay had home field advantage, which has never happened in the Super Bowl before, and had the potential to be a great game. The Chiefs and their atrocious backup tackles had other plans. Nothing went right for the Chiefs the whole game, the Chiefs defense came out strong the first two drives and then they let the Buccaneers run all over them. Tyrann Mathieu was frustrated and took to Tom Brady to let it be known which was the wrong decision. Tom Brady targeted him for the rest of the game and Rob Gronkowski embarrassed him. The Chiefs lost in horrible fashion, couldn’t find the end zone nor protect the quarterback which resulted in Patrick Mahomes first double digit loss in the NFL. Tom Brady gained his 7th super bowl ring and MVP, establishing himself as the undisputed greatest of all time.