Tom Brady won MVP honors, but he wasn’t the MVP.
Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was the real MVP for a game plan that held a Patrick Mahomes offense to nine points and without a touchdown. It was the fewest points ever for a Mahomes offense, with 13 the previous low.
Mahomes had averaged 36.1 points in the postseason in games he started and finished in his career.
The Bucs, after a 27-24 loss to the Chiefs in Week 12, had a game plan that held the Chiefs to 350 yards and kept them out of the end zone.
After beating Taylor Heinicke in his second career start in the wild-card round, the Bucs beat Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Mahomes to win the second Super Bowl in team history.
“They stepped up to the challenge,” Brady said. “You go up against a guy like Pat, an incredible player, and Aaron, MVP. Two weeks ago, they played incredible. And then, Drew they played great. They just stepped up. They rose to the occasion. We needed it, because we were extremely talented offenses. Just so happy we all came to play tonight.”
Brees, Rodgers and Mahomes combined for 55 points and went 78-of-131 for 750 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions against the Bucs.