Super Bowl LV: Three crucial keys to a KC Chiefs victory

Slow Chris Godwin and Mike Evans

You might say to yourselves, “This is easier said than done.” I might agree with you, if the Chiefs hadn’t just done the same thing to arguably the best receiver in the league in Stefon Diggs (I said arguably) and his All-Pro slot counterpart in Cole Beasley.

While the Chiefs defense has been somewhat inconsistent over the last two seasons under Steve Spagnuolo, the one thing they seem to do extremely well is show up in the biggest games. Against the Texans, with the team down 24-0, they nearly pitched a shutout from the second quarter on. Against the Titans, they shut down arguably the hottest player in the league at that time and overcame something that was a considerable weakness of theirs in doing so.

The list goes on and on, ending with shutting down what Football Outsiders believed was the best team left in the playoffs in the AFC Championship. It’s no doubt the ask is a challenging one, but the Chiefs versatile group of safeties and corners are up to the task.

You might ask yourself, what about Rob Gronkowski? Gronk was, in fact, the leading receiver the first time these two teams met, but I’m far more comfortable with him catching short passes over the middle and watching the Buccaneers offense attempt to dink and dunk their way down the field. I’m confident that won’t be enough to match the Chiefs, unless the Buccaneers defense performs far better than the first contest.

You might also wonder what the plan is to stop Antonio Brown? While Brown was one of the best receivers in the league only a short time ago, we haven’t seen consistent play from him since his time in Pittsburgh. He also hasn’t played in the playoffs due to injury. It’s possible he re-establishes himself on Sunday, but I’d be surprised if the offensive game plan wasn’t more focused on Godwin and Evans.