The long wait is over. We are now barely a week away from Super Bowl 55, and we finally know who will be playing for the Lombardi Trophy. The Conference Championships have concluded, and the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the last teams standing in their respective conferences.
After the Super Bowl contending teams have been revealed, fans already have their favorite to win the Super Bowl title. Let us look at each of the teams’ odds as they enter the Super Bowl stadium, and why they ended up being the favorite or the underdog.
From the 32 teams who competed in the 2020 NFL season, we are now down to two. Who will be the favorite? And who will be the underdog? Well, we are about to find out with the early lines presented below.
Kansas City Chiefs (-3)
The Chiefs are the favorite team entering Super Bowl 55 by three points. They are the reigning champion, and they also have Patrick Mahomes on their team, who is considered the best quarterback in the league today.
A new passing superstar…
Mahomes’ performance in the AFC Championship was undeniably spectacular. After being diagnosed with a concussion during the third quarter of the playoffs against the Cleveland Browns, he came back strong against the Buffalo Bills and dominated the field as if nothing had happened the week before.
The Chiefs had a poor start, ending the first quarter in the AFC Championship against the Bills with a 9-0 deficit to overcome. Various factors contributed to the Chiefs’ demise in the first quarter of the game, such as Tyreek Hill‘s fumble and Mecole Hardman mishandling a punt return.
But the team could not let the opponent beat them at their home field that day and recovered soon after. When the Chiefs’ weapons once again displayed themselves on the field that night, the Bills couldn’t match their explosiveness.
Remember the trio who helped the Chiefs to win so many of their games last year? They are the reason why the Chiefs recovered in the conference championship round against the Bills. Mahomes started to do his signature trick passes to Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, and thus the scoring magic began.
The Kansas City defense made a big impact in the AFC Championship.
Kelce caught thirteen passes for 118 yards, and Hills hauled in nine passes for 172 yards, and as the Chiefs’ score started climbing the Bills could hardly do anything to stop them. Kansas City’s defense was also on fire that night, which was instrumental in the victory.
With the performance they have shown on the AFC Championship field, the Chiefs deserved to be named as the favorite team to win the Super Bowl 55. It is also safe to say that they have a huge chance for a repeat.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ odds went up when they defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship. The Packers were the first seed of the NFC and were one of the favored teams to win the Super Bowl this year, which is why the NFC championship result comes as a shock.
Tom Brady and his Buccaneer receivers.
Bucs also have the ability and power to win the game, of course. The team has Tom Brady on their side, a six-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback. However, the Packers have been consistent with their performances and achievements throughout the season and were expected to be the ones who would face the Chiefs in the Super Bowl matchup in February.
Tampa Bay started the game strong, earning the first score of the game in the first quarter. The team’s wide receiver Mike Evans caught a Tom Brady touchdown pass that put the Bucs in the lead by 7-0. The Buccaneers’ defense was also in full swing that night as they sacked Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers an astounding five times during the game.
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Although the Bucs displayed a great performance that night, football enthusiasts were disappointed with the Green Bay game-management. The Packers’ fate was sealed by Head Coach Matt LaFleur‘s decisions, as it all went downhill when he opted for a field-goal rather than going for a touchdown on fourth down late in the game. It would have been their best chance to tie the game, send it into overtime with another chance to win.
The Bucs defense is quite impressive-what a game!
The decision might haunt LaFleur for the rest of his life, as the Packers and Aaron Rodgers lost the NFC Championship along with their chance of bringing home the Lombardi Trophy. On the other hand, the Bucs are also deserving winners, and the Super Bowl game is something to look forward to as it will be a generational battle between Mahomes and Brady.
Brady will win an incredible seventh NFL title if he defeats the Kansas City Chiefs and the best quarterback in the league today, Patrick Mahomes. The surprising Bucs are the first team in NFL history to play in their home stadium during the Super Bowl game.
Takeaway
There is a small chance that the Super Bowl’s early lines will change as the event closes in, although there are not any more games for the Bucs to prove that they deserved better odds than the Chiefs. Both teams have already proven their value throughout the season, and now it will be great fun for football fans to wager and watch this 55th Super Bowl.
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Charles Fischer has been an intense fan of the Ducks, a season ticket holder at Autzen Stadium for 38 years and has written reports on football boards for over 26 years. Known as “FishDuck” on those boards, he is acknowledged for providing intense detail in his scrimmage reports, and in his Xs and Os play analyses. He is single, has a daughter Christine, and resides in Eugene Oregon where he was a Financial Advisor for 36 years.
He now focuses full-time on Charitable Planned Giving Workshops for churches and non-profit organizations in addition to managing his two Oregon Football Websites, of FishDuck.com and the Our Beloved Ducks forum. He is a busy man!
He does not profess to be a coach or analyst, but simply a “hack” that enjoys sharing what he has learned and invites others to correct or add to this body of Oregon Football! See More…