Super Bowl LV is without a doubt is one of the most hyped-up Super Bowl contests in the history of the big game. A legacy Super Bowl, if you will, underscored by the clash between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, which has all the overtures required to define posterity in a jarring collision between the present and future of the game.
The classic football bet and a popular favourite among fans. Bet on the overall outcome of the game: a home win, a draw, or an away win. Both Teams to Score. A “BTTS” bet backs both teams in a game to score. So if you have your eye on a match that features two teams that both score lots goals but also both concede a lot, you can bet on. Based on the seasonal output, the overriding opinion held the Packers as the best bet to win the NFC Championship game. All told, Tom Brady led the Bucs to the 31-26 win to punch Tampa Bay’s.
Brady, 43, is eyeing an incredible seventh Super Bowl title in an NFL record tenth appearance while Mahomes, 24, is looking to rival Brady’s achievement of winning back-to-back Super Bowls 18 years ago. Either way, history will be made.
Should Brady accomplish the feat, he’ll cement his legacy as the GOAT in the game. Should Mahomes accomplish the feat, he’ll become the youngest player to win two consecutive Lombardy Trophies, surpassing Brady who’d accomplished the double at 25 years of age. It would also signal the passing of the baton, the coming of age game, as the new QB surpasses the old in an official changing of the guard moment.
There aren’t enough superlatives or hyperbole with which to describe what Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes mean to the game, and to Super Bowl 55. Suffice it to say that, if it lives up to the hype and NFL betting markets, it should be a right cracker.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, February 7, 2021 – 6:30 PM ET at Raymond James Stadium
Brady Back In Super Bowl Contention
The Brady-Belichick debate has dominated the NFL narrative. Many have speculated whether one without the other would have ever achieved the success they managed to enjoy together during their 20-year stint in New England. Well, as far as Brady is concerned, the answer is glaringly obvious as he is about to start a record 10th Super Bowl in his first year with a new team. And a home Super Bowl at that, which is a first in the history of the game.
Check this, Brady is on the cusp of a seventh title, which is more than any player AND any franchise has ever won in the league’s history. What makes Brady’s accomplishment in Tampa Bay even more awe-inspiring than all the records that could fall in SBLV is that he’s defying age to smash all preconceived notions.
At 43 years of age, Brady is doing something nobody thought was possible. NFL careers are some of the shortest in sports, with players retiring at 30 or younger even, so arduous and taxing is the game physically on the body that few players get the chance to string together careers that span more than a decade. And yet, Brady makes the impossible seem possible, doing so with effortless ease under a shroud of inevitability. Indeed, the moment Brady signed with the Buccaneers, Tampa Bay’s odds shot up the futures markets into contention.
The Buccaneers rolled into Lambeau Field and stunned a highly fancied Green Bay Packers side, featuring an in-form Aaron Rodgers, who was playing at an MVP-level. Based on the seasonal output, the overriding opinion held the Packers as the best bet to win the NFC Championship game. All told, Tom Brady led the Bucs to the 31-26 win to punch Tampa Bay’s ticket to SBLV. Leaving all and sundry wondering how they could have ever doubted Brady. Not for nothing is he touted as the GOAT, underwriting his legacy as the greatest of all time by continuing to win at the highest level.
One could wax lyrical about Brady and how he brought that winning mentality to Tampa Bay, turning around a franchise in one single season from a laughingstock to a bona fide champion. However, it’s a team effort too, requiring everyone from staff to players to buy into the goal. Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles have conspired to build a team that had the right foundation for Brady to lead to success. The offensive weapons at Brady’s disposal are the envy of many a coach, while the young defense is growing into its own and playing a major part in the team’s success.
Mahomes’ Star Continues to Rise
In his short NFL career, Mahomes has already surpassed many of the game’s elite players to reach his second Super Bowl in as many years, and the scary bit is that he’s only just begun tapping into his otherworldly talent. There’s no doubt that he’s the real deal and a fitting successor to Brady’s legacy.
Mahomes comes into SBLV having won 25 of his last 26 contests, including last year’s Super Bowl (d. San Francisco 49ers). In his three seasons, he has reached three AFC Championship games, winning two, and two Super Bowls. He has the most passing yards, passing touchdowns, and the highest quarterback rating in his first 46 starts than any other quarterback in the history of the game.
Surrounding Mahomes are some of the league’s best players in Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Sammy Watkins… and so on. The depth, talent, and skill of the Chiefs makes them quite rightly the team to beat as indicated by the line on this game. All while Andy Reid and the Chiefs coaching staff continue to cook up wow plays and schemes that make the Chiefs one of the most exciting teams to follow.
What made Kansas City’s SBLIV win special was the fact that in all three games in the postseason Mahomes and Co. rallied in come-from-behind victories. That ability to normalize winning in the face of adversity makes Mahomes one of the most lethal, dangerous quarterbacks in the game. It also makes the Chiefs a team that can never be counted out until the game is over. It’s a rare quality that a few players or teams have, and that separates Mahomes and the Chiefs from the rest.
NFL Predictions and Picks: What Bets To Lock
It’s practically impossible to identify a lock bet in a marquee matchup such as this one because either side, in theory, has a reasonable shot to emerge triumphantly. A scenario exists in which the Chiefs win a second straight Super Bowl. Equally, a scenario exists for Brady and the Bucs to triumph too. What it boils down to therefore in betting is a personal preference. Which player or team one fancies over the other.
It’s hard to argue against most pundits who are predicting the Chiefs will win a second straight Super Bowl. As mentioned above, Mahomes is the real deal, and the Chiefs are installed as the team to beat for good reason.
And yet, in early betting markets, Tampa Bay catching 3-points appears to be the more tempting for NFL picks to lock in right now for various reasons, one of which is the fact that the line for this game has the potential to dwindle as kick-off approaches. Thereby, it would eliminate any value with the Buccaneers against the spread. (By that same token, those looking to back the Chiefs might want to wait for a better, smaller number before pulling the trigger.)
At a more sentimental, empirical level… doesn’t it feel like Tom Brady is being underrated again? Let’s face it, what he’s done in his second act with Tampa Bay is arguably unparalleled in the NFL and sport in general. As great as Mahomes is right now, Brady’s greatness is something to behold as he continues to set himself apart from his peers. It’s something we may not see again for another 20 years; that is if Mahomes plays into his 40s.
When Bruce Arians was asked about Tom Brady’s impact on the Bucs, he summarized it so: 'The belief he gave to this organization that it could be done….it only took one man.'
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NFL Picks:Buccaneers +3 (+102) with Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.
