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Tom Brady said it best before Super Bowl LV kicked off. The big game is usually not won by the team with the best record or the team that had the best season. It’s won by the team that plays the best on that particular day.
When it comes to the Bucs-Chiefs matchup, it’s clear who the better team was on Sunday. The Bucs defense throttled the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes and Co. didn’t score a touchdown for the first time since he’s been a starter and an offense that has averaged 6.4 yards per play since the 2018 season averaged just 5.1 yards a pop against the Bucs.
Tampa Bay’s offense was effective, too. Brady threw for two touchdowns and Leonard Fournette had 135 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown run.
Everything came together for the Bucs and the end result was one of the more dominant Super Bowl performances in history.
“They were the better team today,” Mahomes told reporters after the game. “They beat us pretty good. [It’s] the worst I’ve been beaten, I think, in a long time.”
Tampa Bay’s 22-point win is the Super Bowl’s fourth-largest winning margin over the last 20 years. The Bucs beat the Raiders, 48-21, in Super Bowl XXXVII, which is tied for the second-highest margin during that span.