Mahomes to Defend Super Bowl Title, Brady to Go for a Seventh Win

Landon Vuagniaux, Sports Editor

Football fans across the U.S. eagerly await Sunday’s arrival, which marks the Super Bowl LV’s anticipated battle of the quarterbacks: Brady vs. Mahomes.

The hype surrounding the game stems from the quarterbacks’ decorated careers; Mahomes is fresh off of his win at Super Bowl LIV, and Brady is looking for his seventh championship ring.

Though Brady’s greater success merits respect and warrants an expected win, the game will not be an easy victory, according to senior Jackson Hentz.

“Tom Brady is the best of all time, and the buccaneers have a killer defense,” Hentz said. “But the chiefs are younger, a little bit better coached in my opinion and they’re confident. They’ve been there before and won. I am not counting the Bucs out though.”

Because the teams have few weaknesses, Hentz said he expects a close game. Senior Andrew Kaltmayer agrees, saying both teams are “well-rounded.”

But Kaltmayer said that the two teams have their own strengths, which could lead either team to the trophy. Regardless of Brady’s abilities, the Chiefs have a better offense, while the Buccaneers stocked their defense with players like outside linebacker Shaquille Barret, who had three sacks in the NFC Championship last week, according to CBS Sports.

The matchup will unfold at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where the Bucs will host the NFL’s first home game Super Bowl. With this, Tampa will have a strong performance this weekend, Kaltmayer said.

“I think Tampa being at home will be a big factor in the way [the Buccaneers] play and in their confidence,” Kaltmayer said. “As a football player, I know that being backed by crowds of fans really pushes a team toward a win.”

However, the Buccaneers have had major problems in past games, and they need to focus on their playing opposed to outside factors, Kaltmayer said.

“I’d just say that Tampa needs to work on the connection between Brady and his receivers because, in the last game between the Saints and the Bucs, it seemed like Brady was throwing, and the receivers didn’t know… where they were going.”

To combat this, the Bucs need to “run the ball,” according to Hentz. This cuts down on Mahomes’ playing time, which is critical to a Chiefs win.

For the Chiefs, Hentz said the team needs to keep the ball with their offense—namely Mahomes, who can secure the game with “his weapons” and ability to make quick plays.

“With the Buccaneers, it’s just lack of playoff experience, but having a quarterback who has been to 10 Super Bowls almost makes up for that,” Hentz said. “But the Chiefs have been pretty much bulletproof all year,” Hentz said. “Other than that, football is football. The entire game changes with every play, but at its core, it’s always the same: The team who executes better at the end will win.”