The 2020-2021 NFL season has had its ups and downs, and now the final game of the season is upon us: Super Bowl LV. This year’s edition of the championship game features the NFC champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, against AFC champions and defending Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams boast high-octane offenses led by two of the best quarterbacks in the league: Tom Brady for the Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs. Brady has won six Super Bowls and is already the most winning quarterback and player in NFL history. On the other side of the field, Mahomes led the Chiefs to the franchise’s second championship win against the San Francisco 49ers in last year’s Super Bowl.

Both teams had strong regular seasons, with the Chiefs posting a 14-2 record while the Buccaneers went 11-5. Brady and Mahomes both threw for over 4,000 yards during the season, with Brady throwing 40 touchdown passes and Mahomes throwing 38. In the run game, the Chiefs are led by rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who ran for 803 yards on the season. The Bucs are led by Ronald Jones II, who was just shy of running 1,000 yards for the season, taking 978 yards. In the receiving department, the Chiefs are loaded with tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. Kelce led the team in passing yards with 1,416 yards and 11 touchdowns while Hill had 1,276 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Bucs also have an impressive receiving team, with wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, and tight end Rob Gronkowski. Evans led the team with 1,006 passing yards and 13 touchdown receptions on the season. Both teams have defended well against the run. However, their secondaries haven’t held up as well, which means this Super Bowl will be a fiery offensive battle. 

The Chiefs and the Buccaneers have had a decent playoff run. The Buccaneers led the Washington Football Team and the New Orleans Saints both by a score of nearly 10. They held off the Green Bay Packers in a close game with a 31-26 win. In all those matchups, Brady diced up opposing defenses and delivered timely passes to help swing the game. On the other side, the Chiefs had a week off in the wild card round before ousting the Cleveland Browns in a tight 22-17 win. They then demolished the Buffalo Bills 38-24 in the AFC championship game and looked like the behemoth threat everyone had grown accustomed to over the last few seasons. 

The Brady vs. Mahomes faceoff promises to be a high-scoring offensive showdown, and the high stakes for the two quarterbacks makes it even more appealing. If Brady were to win a seventh championship ring, his position as one of the greatest players of all time would be solidified. Meanwhile, Mahomes is currently seen by many as the best quarterback in the league, and winning back-to-back Super Bowls would cement this elite status. 

The highly anticipated Super Bowl LV is slated to kickoff in Tampa, Florida at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 7. The halftime show will feature pop star The Weeknd.