There were a number of interesting stories going into the two huge championship games, and they both certainly provided a fair amount of drama for any football enthusiast.
In the end, it will be a Super Bowl matchup centering around two familiar faces.
In what almost feels like a scripted matchup, veteran Tom Brady will face off against perhaps the NFL’s youngest star in the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes.
This is of course Brady’s first appearance as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after leaving the New England Patriots during the offseason to great fanfare.
Not only that, Brady will be playing for his record seventh Super Bowl victory in his home stadium while Mahomes will attempt to defend the Kansas City Chiefs’ title.
Brady will lead the Bucs at the ripe old age of 43 and is fresh off three huge playoff victories on the road as a Wild Card seed. Mahomes, on the other hand, is just 25 years old and carries a wide assortment of weapons on offense.
Brady and the Bucs had to beat Washington, Drew Brees and the Saints, and finally Aaron Rodgers and the Packers all while on the road.
Brady did have his share of trouble against Green Bay and ended up throwing three interceptions, though the Bucs were able to stave off a desperate come back and win 31-26.
Mahomes was able to lead his Chiefs to another appearance in the Super Bowl with a first round bye as the top seed in the AFC and then beat the upstart Browns and Bills teams that both had hugely successful seasons. He was able to play the entire game against a tough Bills defense after suffering a concussion close to the end of the win against the Browns.
Kansas City started slowly trailing 9-0 early on and then Mahomes and the Chiefs took over scoring 31 points in the second and third quarters in response. The Bills did have a few chances to close the margin but ultimately could not capitalize.
Now, the two will be front and center in what is likely to be another memorable confrontation between the two. Each quarterback has won 2 games while facing the other.
Perhaps one of the undercards in the upcoming matchup will also be the battle of two of the greatest tight ends in the history of the game as well.
Travis Kelce had 13 catches for 118 yards and 2 scores in the AFC Championship and was clearly this year’s best at the position. And like Brady, former Patriots superstar Rob Gronkowski will be seeking another Super Bowl title in Tampa Bay.
Finally, Tampa will be the first team to play for the title in their home stadium and have just one championship to date during the 2002-2003 season, which coincidentally was the year sandwiched between two previous Brady Super Bowl victories.
It certainly marks the end of an exciting year in sports for the city, as it saw the NHL’s Lightning win the Stanley Cup, MLB’s Rays reach the World Series, and now a hometown Super Bowl with the Bucs.
Whether or not the home-field advantage helps remains to be seen, and the Chiefs will likely be the favorites going in.
Betting against Brady or Mahomes is tough and will certainly make for a Super Bowl full of intrigue in an already strange year.
