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This most unprecedented of NFL seasons comes to an end on Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs meet in Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Making their first appearance in the Big Game in 18 years and only the second in franchise history after defeating the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII, the Bucs are the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, return to the Super Bowl 12 months after beating the San Francisco 49ers 31–20 and could become the first team to win back-to-back titles since the New England Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Super Bowl LV.
- Kickoff time Super Bowl LV is scheduled to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 7.
- Venue The 55th edition of the Super Bowl will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It marks the first time the city has hosted the NFL title game since 2009 and the fifth overall. Raymond James Stadium has previously hosted Super Bowls XXXV and XLIII.
- TV channel CBS
- Live stream CBS All Access and fuboTV.
- Odds The Chiefs are a consensus three-point favorites, while the over/under line for total points scored is set at 56. In moneyline terms, Kansas City is an 8-13 favorite while Tampa Bay is a 7-5 underdog.
Three months after meeting in Tampa in Week 12 of the regular season, the Bucs and the Chiefs reconvene at Raymond James Stadium with the small matter of the Vince Lombardi trophy at stake.
Super Bowl MVP favorite Patrick Mahomes passed for a season-high 462 yards and three touchdowns when the Chiefs won 27-24 in Week 12. He could become only the second quarterback—after Tom Brady—to win two Super Bowls in his first four seasons in the league.
Brady, meanwhile, could win the seventh ring of his career, which would make him more successful than any NFL franchise in history.
Super Bowl LV also marks the first time that the starting quarterbacks who won the two previous Super Bowls—Mahomes 12 months ago and Brady with the New England Patriots a year before that—will lead their respective teams in an NFL championship game.
Tempting as it is to boil down Super Bowl LV to a matchup between the greatest quarterback the game has ever seen and the only player who appears to have a shot at surpassing his achievements, there's far more to Sunday than Brady and Mahomes.
Tyreek Hill finished with career highs of 13 catches and 269 receiving yards, including a staggering 203 yards in the first quarter as Kansas City took a 17-0 lead against Tampa Bay in Week 12.
The shellacking the Bucs defense suffered in the regular season is firmly in the rearview mirror for a unit that ranks third in Football Outsiders' DVOA defensive ratings and made life highly uncomfortable for both Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers in the last two playoff games.
Stopping Mahomes, who is 44-9 as a starter in his career, should be far more difficult but the reigning Super Bowl MVP will play behind a makeshift offensive line with the Chiefs missing starting left tackle Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.
On the other side of the ball, the Chiefs rank 22nd in Football Outsiders' DVOA defensive ratings and face a Bucs offense that arrives in Super Bowl LV on the back of a franchise-record streak of scoring at least 30 points in six consecutive games.
If Mahomes and Brady have records in their sights, the same applies to the men on the sidelines with Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and his Bucs counterpart Bruce Arians both on the verge of making history.
At 62 years of age, Reid can become the oldest head coach to win back-to-back Super Bowls, surpassing the record set by Vince Lombardi, who was 54 when the Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl II.
Reid, incidentally, was on the sidelines when Brady's Patriots defeated his Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX to become the seventh team to win consecutive titles.
Arians, meanwhile, would become the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl, surpassing a record held by Bill Belichick, who was 66 when the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams two years ago.
About the writer
Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more