At long last, after hours of fanfare and pageantry, Super Bowl 2021 kicked off at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday night.
Defense reined early, including a three-and-out by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to begin the game, but the Chiefs took the lead on their second possession.
After Patrick Mahomes’ two shots at the end zone came up empty, Harrison Butker booted a 49-yard field goal to give the Chiefs a 3-0 lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
Brady and the Buccaneers then shook off their rough start to answer on the very next drive. Brady hit Antonio Brown and Cameron Brate for big gains, followed by a long run from Leonard Fournette.
Brady eventually found his old favorite, tight end Rob Gronkowski, for an 8-yard touchdown pass on a play-action screen to go up 7-3. Brady finished the quarter 6-of-7 passing for 50 yards while Mahomes was just 2-for-8 for nine yards.
The Chiefs punted early in the second quarter, unable to find an answer for Tampa Bay’s first touchdown. Brady and the Bucs then began driving again, with a huge 31-yard completion to Mike Evans bringing them to the 6-yard line. There was nearly a big man touchdown, but tackle Joe Haeg dropped Brady’s pass in the back of the end zone. The Bucs eventually faced a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line and Bruce Arians risked it for the biscuit, but Ronald Jones was stuffed as the Chiefs made the goal-line stand.
Kansas City gave the ball back quickly on a short punt, then hurt itself with two penalties — a holding that negated a Tyrann Mathieu interception and an offsides that negated a field-goal attempt. On the very next play, Brady hit Gronkowski for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 14-3 with 6:05 to go.
Mahomes finally got the Chiefs driving, as he hooked up with Travis Kelce on multiple occasions to get down the field. But they stalled out at the 14-yard line, with Mahomes pressured into a third-down throwaway. The Chiefs settled for a 34-yard field goal from Butker to make it 14-6 with 1:01 left in the half.
That left too much time for Brady. He got help from two more penalties, a pair of pass interferences, that put the Bucs at the 1-yard line with 10 seconds left. Brady hit Brown for a quick touchdown to make it a 21-6 halftime lead.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire exploded for the Chiefs’ biggest play of the game at the time on the first play of the second half, a 26-yard run. It still didn’t spark a touchdown drive, but Butker got the Chiefs within 21-9 on a 52-yard field goal. Brady and Gronkowski continued their blast from the past on the next drive, with a 25-yard connection. It set up a 27-yard touchdown run from Leonard Fournette for a 28-9 advantage.
Mahomes then picked a bad time for his first interception, but it wasn’t all his fault. His pass intended for Tyreek Hill in traffic was deflected and Antoine Winfield Jr. scooped it up before the ball could hit the ground for the pick. The Buccaneers turned it into points, though they had to settle for their first field goal of the night, a 52-yarder from Ryan Succop.
