The Perfect Storm: Reasons the Chiefs Lost the Super Bowl

The Perfect Storm: Reasons the Chiefs Lost the Super Bowl – Sometimes there are articles you never expected to write. This is one of those. Sometimes there are articles you never would want to write. This also qualifies. That being said, here are the reasons the Kansas City Chiefs lost the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The Bucs Defensive Line

The first, and most obvious, reason is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive line was head and shoulders knees and toes better than the Chiefs Offensive Line. I asked a friend this question today: do you think the Chiefs would have won that game if they had LT Eric Fisher and RT Mitchell Schwartz at full strength? The correct answer to that question is as he said: probably not. The Bucs DTs, Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea could be seen pushing the pocket back into Patrick Mahomes lap as soon as the ball was snapped on so many of the Chiefs offensive plays that Fisher and Schwartz would likely not have meant the difference that could bring K.C. a “W” on this day.

The Penalty Disparity

The referees in the Super Bowl called 7 more penalties on the Chiefs than the Bucs. The total penalties called ended up: Chiefs – 11 for 120 yards, Bucs – 4 for 39. That means that more than 73% of the penalties were called on the Chiefs. I’ve often been amazed at how referees would “let em play” a during championship game, unless a call was so flagrant that they couldn’t help but call it. Not on this day.

I know the difference between a reason and an excuse so this “reason” is just part of the whole picture that informs us about why the Chiefs failed to bring home another Lombardi two days ago. Some have hypothesized that the NFL wanted Tom Brady to win this Super Bowl. While I’m not much for conspiracy theories I think it’s more than interesting that the 49ers HoF QB Steve Young, over the weekend, suggested that playing quarterback is much easier today than it was 30 years ago (in his era) because the NFL has enacted rules that protect the QB, and that many of those rules came about as a result of the league needing to protect Tom Brady. From TheUndefeated.com five rules that protect the QB include:

• The one-step rule. After the quarterback releases the ball, the defender has to hit the quarterback before his second step hits the ground. After the second foot hits the ground, the defender cannot hit the quarterback.
• Quarterbacks are protected against low hits in the pocket.
• Quarterbacks are protected against intimidating and punishing acts: stuffing them into the ground, driving them down after they have thrown the ball and landing on them with all or most of a defender’s weight.
• The quarterback is protected against hits to the head or hits by a defender’s helmet against the quarterback’s body.
• After quarterbacks release the ball, they are protected. They cannot be hit late. If there is a turnover, a defender may not hit the quarterback until he assumes a distinctly defensive posture.

While it appears that several of those rules were adopted due to Tom Brady (Tuck Rule included), that these rules ever became rules in the first place, is probably a very good idea. Safety First! However, when Patrick Mahomes was on the field, many of those same rules didn’t seem to apply.

It’s my contention that the excess of Penalties called on the Chiefs, ruined the Super Bowl for millions of viewers. At least we should all agree that biased and overzealous referees kept the game from being it’s competitive best. Now, why would the NFL want the most important game of the year to not be competitive? Hmmm… why does this one name keep popping into my head? OTOH… would an even handed approach to calling penalties have made a difference in the game? Probably not.

Negative Momentum

In an article called, “Momentum in the NFL: Is It real, Or Just an Illusion?” written by Kevin Brady for the website, insidethestar.com, he states:

This upcoming year I will be working on coding and analyzing within-game momentum in the NFL. For example, how does a turnover or a dropped pass effect the result of the ensuing drive. This will be tough, but I am excited to see what the data will say. It is certainly easier for a former football player like myself to believe in within-game momentum than it is to believe in between game momentum.

The Chiefs appeared to be lethargic before this game ever started. Not much went their way from the outset. It leads me to wonder if there were any events that caused this kind of pregame apathy? While I don’t pretend to make excuses for any of the Chiefs poor performances, the Britt Reid incident could have hindered. Besides placing a young girl in critical condition and putting her life in danger, we’ve since learned that Britt Reid had surgery following the accident as well. Could any of that been predominant in the mind/heart of HC Andy Reid? After all, Reid said in his post game presser: “My heart bleeds for everyone involved.” Was it bleeding before the game as well… during the game… or started bleeding right after the game? Something to consider.

However, let me be clear, all the credit in the world goes to the Bucs for their winning play. They were clearly the better team on this day. OTOH, the Chiefs didn’t seem to show up — in terms of energy and execution — and it showed up on Sunday…. and… there must have been a reason(s) for that.

The Difference at QB? –> OL

Patrick Mahomes was 29-of-46 for 270 yards. Tom Brady was 21-of-29 for 201 yards. So, Mahomes outplayed Brady, right? Not nearly. Mahomes had zero TD passes and Brady had 3, while PMII had two INTs and TB had 0. Mahomes had a QBR of 49.9 and Brady was at 81.8. Was there some reason for the disparity in the play between Brady and Mahomes? The Chiefs Offensive Line.

The Chiefs Offensive Line, this is not another way of saying the Bucs DL was better. The Chiefs OL simply wasn’t good enough. Period. For some it may be hard to say whether or not the Bucs won because their DL was better, or because the Chiefs OL was so bad, but to me it was easy to see that the Chiefs OL was horrendous. Clearly, for Patrick Mahomes, the OL did a disservice to him — and the name of offensive linemen — alike.

Brett Veach has a mammoth task ahead of him to give the Chiefs a chance in 2021 and it begins with re-building the OL. While I disagree with Andy Reid’s following assessment of the OL, I’m more concerned about the health of Patrick Mahomes if the OL doesn’t get fixed this offseason:

Though I am loath to compare Patrick Mahomes to Andrew Luck, you have to wonder just how long a QB can take being beat up, game after game, play after play? Luck retired early in his career because of injuries that ruined his NFL experience. One can’t help but wonder if the Chiefs are headed down a similar path.

Mahomes was awesome. Watch all these throws.

Don’t let anyone tell you he didn’t play well last night.

-Geoff Schwartz

The Chiefs Were Out Schemed

After the first quarter of the game, the Bucs appeared to make all the right adjustments while the Chiefs didn’t. It was 7-to-3 Bucs after the 1st quarter and the Chiefs still looked like they were in the game. Once halftime arrived, it was 21-to-6 Tampa Bay and the game “felt” over. The defense was actually doing a much better job than the offense and although they gave up 31 points, if you’d have told me before the game that the Bucs were going to score 31, I’d still have said the Chiefs would win. The Bucs OC, Byron Leftwich, did a better job than the Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo. The Bucs DC, Todd Bowles, did a better job than the Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy or Andy Reid for that matter. While you might give the nod to the Chiefs Special teams, the score wasn’t close enough, and the Chiefs STs wasn’t good enough, to make a difference in the outcome.

So who did, or who didn’t, lose this game:

• Travis Kelce caught 10 passes for 133 yards and outplayed his rival Rob Gronkowski who had 6 catches for 67 yards. However, Gronk had 2 TDs and Kelce had none. While Kelce was not a reason the Chiefs lost, Gronk was a reason the Bucs won.

• Tyreek Hill had 7 catches for 73 yards but zero TDs. That’s 12 yards less for his per game average so it may not exactly be his fault… but the Bucs DBs did a great job of corralling him. However, it’s much harder for me to put Hill in conversations about the league’s best WRs when another team almost makes him disappear in a Super Bowl.
• The Bucs RBs totaled 145 yards rushing for the game, 50 yards better than their YPG of 95. That’s the Chiefs front seven who had breakdowns vs the running game of the Bucs. If the Chiefs Run D is better, the Bucs passing game isn’t as effective. Here’s the mathematical formula: A’s success = B’s success. So, the C’s Run D gets an F. I think we’ve got today’s teaching assignment covered.
• Andy Reid calls a timeout with 0:44 second left before the end of the first half giving Tom Brady a chance to score again… and he does. The score went from 6-to-14 up to 6-to-21. If the Chiefs get the ball after the half only down by 8 points, there could have been a very different approach and consequently, result. While I thought we were past the time when Andy Reid and clock issues were synonymous, I guess not.
• Bucs LBs vs the Chiefs LBs – Lavonte David had 6 tackles and Devin White had 12 for 18 total. Anthony Hitchens had 1 tackle and Damien Wilson had 10 tackles for 11 tackles total. However, Ben Neimann 9 tackles. The Bucs LBs were more decisive, must faster to the ball, and were the reason the Chiefs Jet Sweeps and Screens didn’t work. David and White were/are unquestionably superior, and another important reason the Bucs won… and the Chiefs lost. In fact, the Bucs terrific tandem at LB makes me wonder if K.C. could beat them in a rematch, even more than the excellent play of their DL.

The Perfect Storm: Summary

It wasn’t one thing you could put your finger on and say, that’s the singular reason the Chiefs lost Super Bowl LV. It’s all of those things together. Prior to the game, I thought… the Chiefs would have to have a bad day and the Bucs would have to play a perfect game… for the Chiefs to lose. Well, it was even more than that. Homefield Advantage is called Homefield “Advantage” because, it is an… Advantage. Is that anyone’s fault. No. How could it be? However, it is another reason the Chiefs failed on Sunday.

The Bucs deserve a lot of credit for not only playing a great game, but making all the right in-game adjustments to come out with a win. Congratulations to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Could both of these teams end up on the field for Super Bowl LVI? Yes, there’s a “super” likelihood of that happening. In fact, I hope it does.

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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