NFL Network brought the Super Bowl LV quarterbacks together for a virtual interview in a cool moment leading up to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ eventual 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
NFL Media’s Kay Adams in the meeting asked Buccaneers QB Tom Brady what he would “steal” from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ game. Brady’s answer turned out to actually be a quality that partially cost Kansas City a chance at winning Super Bowl LV.
“I love how he drifts back in the pocket, takes it about 6 yards deep then drops back to about 19, 20, pry 15 yards, right foot in the ground and then flicks that ball 60 yards down the field on a dime to Tyreek (Hill) or something like that,” Brady said.
Without starting left tackle Eric Fisher (injured reserve), left guard Kelechi Osemele (injured reserve), right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (opt-out) and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (injured reserve), Mahomes overcompensated for his offensive line’s inexperience and overall lack of talent by dropping back the way Brady described way, way, way too frequently.
Check out this tweet from PFF’s Ben Stockwell:
Mahomes was running for his life behind the line of scrimmage to get away from Bucs defenders.
ESPN’s Mina Kimes tweeted Sunday night that Mahomes was pressured on an unbelievable 29-of-56 dropbacks.
The Buccaneers managed three sacks and eight total quarterback hits Sunday in their Super Bowl win.
Brady, meanwhile, was sacked just once and hit twice. Brady outplayed Mahomes and the Bucs’ defense was considerably better than the Chiefs’ unit, but pressure, and how Mahomes handled it, played a major factor in Sunday’s game.
