Yes, the Chiefs beat the Buccaneers in Week 12, in Tampa. On the surface, that gives Kansas City the edge in the rematch on Sunday.
History tells a different story.
Via the Washington Post, Super Bowl LV entails the 14th rematch of a regular-season meeting. The team that won the regular-season game has a losing record in round two.
The 6-7 record by teams that won the first game includes an 0-4 record by teams from the AFC.
Of the 13 times it has happened, the last three have involved Tom Brady. In 2001, the Rams beat the Patriots during the regular season. In Super Bowl XXXVI, the Patriots won the rematch. Six years later, the Giants stunned New England after an exciting Week 17 contest that cemented the Patriots’ perfect season.
Four years after that, the Patriots lost to the Giants by four points in the regular season -- and then lost against to the Giants by four points in the playoffs.
So Brady is 0-1 when his team won in the regular season, and 1-1 when his team lost in the regular season.
What does any of it mean? Not much. And that’s the point: The fact that the Chiefs and Buccaneers played in Week 12 and that the Chiefs won the game means not much at all on Sunday, when they play again.