Super Bowl LV: 3 reasons the Bucs will upset the Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offer hope for an exciting and closely-contested Super Bowl LV (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS). Only three points separated the two teams when they met at Raymond James Stadium in Week 12, as Kansas City escaped with a 27-24 triumph.

Just as they did then, the Chiefs currently sit as a three-point favorite for the rematch. However, underdogs have won six of the last eight Super Bowls outright.

There’s a solid case to be made for the Bucs in Super Bowl LV – here are three reasons why Tampa Bay could hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Feb. 7.

Tom Brady’s incomparable résumé

Tom Brady already cast a long shadow on the Super Bowl before he made his 10th appearance in the big game, and first with a team not named the New England Patriots.

Brady owns a 6-3 record through his first nine Super Bowl efforts, with four MVP Awards to boot. His most recent outing in the NFC Championship Game wasn’t his finest (20-for-36, 280 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions), but the regular season stats (65.7% completion rate, 7.6 yards per attempt, 40 touchdowns, 12 interceptions) suggest that Brady’s hardly lost a step at age 43.

Bucs’ impressive arsenal of pass catchers

Brady has not done it all by himself this year. He’s gotten plenty of help from perimeter talents like wide-outs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and trusty tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Even role players like wide-out Scotty Miller have stepped up at the right times.

Tampa’s pass-catching fleet is far superior to anything the Patriots have trotted out over the last several seasons.

Tampa’s turnover-happy defense

The Bucs’ defense excelled at forcing turnovers in the regular season, as they were tied for fifth-most in the NFL (25). They’re carried that ability into the postseason, as they’ve forced five interceptions and two fumbles through three games.

Even the ultra-careful Packers, who didn’t record a single giveaway in 11 games this year, coughed the ball up twice in the NFC Championship Game.

Unheralded corner back Sean Murphy-Bunting has had an incredible postseason, tallying an interception in three straight contests. He owes some credit to Tampa’s tenacious pass rush, who generated the fourth-most sacks in the NFL this year (48). They’ve brought down the quarterback seven times in the playoffs as well.

Jason Pierre-Paul has led the way with 9.5 sacks in the regular season and 2.0 in the postseason.