Super Bowl 2021: Buccaneers vs Chiefs news summary, 6 February
Super Bowl LV 2021: latest news
Super Bowl LV: Bucs vs Chiefs headlines
- KC Chiefs have landed in Tampa
- Scarce Super Bowl tickets at highest value for a decade
- President Biden will have his first live TV interview just before Super Bowl LV kicks off
- The Weeknd promise 'family-friendly' performance
Team news:
- Chiefs put Robinson and Kilgore on the reserve list after covid-19 close contact. Both can still play given negative tests
- Eric Fisher (T) and Willlie Gay (LB) confirmed out for Chiefs. Le'Veon Bell (RB) doubtful. Sammy Watkins should be fine.
- Antonio Brown (WR), Lavonte David (LB), Antoine Brown (R) and Jordan Whitehead (S) doubtful for the Buccaneers.
Odds/betting/predictions:
- initial Super Bowl simulations have the Chiefs as a 55 percent favorite to defeat the Buccaneers with an average score of 28-26
- 2021 Super Bowl MVP odds: Patrick Mahomes -120; Tom Brady +190. After the two QBs come Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce at +1100
- Most Touchdown Passes: Mahomes -143 Brady +115
Scroll through related news:
Pee-wee Herman has his Super Bowl snacks ready
Not everyone can have quite the spread that Pee-wee Herman shares in this tweet for their Super Bowl. To get some mouthwatering ideas for what to prepare for your Super Bowl click here.
The Weeknd will perform solo at the Super Bowl
In an interview for the NFL Network The Weeknd confirmed that there won’t be a special guest appearance during his halftime show. “There wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative, in the story I was telling in the performance. So yeah. There’s no special guests.”
A trip down Super Bowl memory lane
Arguably one of the greatest renditions of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in history and Whitney Houston’s 1991 performance in Tampa was set the standard for how it should be sung.
Super Bowl food, snacks & appetizers recipes to enjoy the game
Sort sumptious Super Bowl snacks
This year, given the extra risks around sharing food owing to coronavirus, we’re recommending you give guests separate plates and cutlery, and encourage hand washing and minimal double-dipping.
Wings on Super Bowl Sunday are a given but have you considered a hot wings recipe, or maybe give them an Asian twist with thai peanut. You could go for a more healthy option with baked brown sugar wings.
Allow Emily French to get your mouth juices going and then get prepared for the big game...
Super Bowl talk transcends sports
European soccer teams have some pretty big names but this weekend even the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Zlatan and Neymar are drawn into the NFL mania.
I wonder if the manufacturers will take up these ideas from B/R...
How long is halftime during the Super Bowl?
Halftime showtime
From a tape-delayed performance by New Kids on the Block in Super Bowl XXV (also in Tampa), through Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, US, Jackson-Timberlake, Prince, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, the halftime show has not looked back.
Here are some of the more recent spectacles that have brought us up to this Sunday, and how long they got to stay on stage.
Super Bowl history: all the championship rings
Super Bowl rings
Rising up to become an NFL champion carries a historical weight, but it also does so on the hands, with Super Bowl rings being known for their extravagance and size.
Check out the finger bling over the years...
Triple 1: experience matters
The Buccaneers go into this game with what we believe is the oldest combined age of quarterback and coach.
Can you tell us any different?
That's some throw Mahomes!
A few hours ago we saw the Chiefs board their plane departing from Kansas. Well, they've landed in Tampa...
Patrick Mahomes vs Tom Brady records: touchdown passes, rings...
More Brady vs Mahomes insight
...can you ever really get enough?
Ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl LV, most eyes are on the quarterbacks: Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. The man who has defined the last two decades in the NFL versus the man most likely to cast a considerable shadow over the 2020s. One will look to add to his remarkable legacy against a quarterback well placed to live up to it.
We cannot wait to see how it pans out and take a look at the two stars...
Serious Super Bowl predictions
When someone puts in the hard graft analysis to bring you a prediction for the Bucs-Chiefs showdown, we feel obliged to share it with you.
You're welcome!
Who have been Super Bowl MVPs in the past?
Super Bowl MVPs
The two favourites to be MVP on Sunday are clear: Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, who have each won it before, Mahomes last year, and Brady four times previously.
Here's a breakdown of all the winners:
A very different Super Bowl Sunday for fans
Fans hoping to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday will face a much different reality this year, with the novel coronavirus restricting the celebration around one of America's unofficial holidays.
Those who choose to gather at Super Bowl parties big and small in Tampa and across the country face dire warnings from public health officials to abide by basic health and safety protocols, amid the covid-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 450,000 lives in the United States. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance said those who attend large watch parties should avoid 'chanting or cheering' and avoid going to the restroom during 'high-traffic times.'
For local businesses in Tampa, Florida, meeting the safety standards of the covid-19 era may mean extra work without the usual super-sized plunder they might have enjoyed with America's biggest sporting event coming to town.
'We gotta make sure we're absolutely... taking precautions to the nines,' said Tom Malloy, 25, the manager of Ducky's Sports Lounge in Tampa, which plans to host fans for a watch party on Sunday with indoor and outdoor seating and 40 TVs blasting the big game. 'We're willing as a business to accept any of those additional costs to kind of make people feel safe.'
Malloy said the pandemic has been a learning experience in how to stay up to code with local safety measures while weathering the 'hefty, hefty hit' to revenue. 'We're using Super Bowl as kind of an opportunity to maybe rekindle a relationship with people who have, you know, been out of the bar scene since covid came,' said Malloy. 'Thank God Super Bowl has been helping us out.'
Paulsen, Letterman and a Super Bowl
The biggest sporting finale in the world and plenty of build-up fun to be had.
The Chiefs are on the move
The flight south from Kansas to Tampa takes around two and a half hours which doesn't seem like much. But when the lads step out of the plane, they should notice quite a difference in the air temperature.
Superheroes for Super Bowl
Considering the ongoing pandemic and constant changes in releases and productions, it's actually quite ill-advised to be releasing such expensive marketing for a product that could easily be delayed.
That hasn't stopped fans from speculating about the possibility of companies advertising their digital releases, such as Zack Snyder's Justice League, and whether Warner Bros. will fork over the money to buy a TV spot at the Super Bowl.
As for Marvel Studios, fans have also taken some swings at what might be pushed at the event, with more unlikely guesses being Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings or Eternals. However, a later report from Deadline indicated that, unsurprisingly, Disney would be conservative with the TV spots at the sports event, saying that they would only have “two to four trailers.”
Read more:
Fixing the Super Bowl
According to Paul Rudnick, we can sort out a fix for tomorrow night's clash.
Not the simplest five instructions to be honest!
Super spreading Super Bowl LV?
In normal times, the Super Bowl is one of the country’s premier social occasions — bringing enthusiasts and nonfans alike together for hours of football-fueled festivities.
But in the era of covid-19, officials and experts say Sunday’s game poses a tremendous risk, and that widespread large watch parties could imperil California’s precarious emergence from the worst wave of the pandemic.
“Don’t fumble this. We’re almost there,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health and human services secretary. “Let’s keep our guard up a little bit longer.”
The warning against Super Bowl parties is as much about avoiding the mistakes of the past as it is staving off future calamity. A big warning sign is the rise of the more contagious and possibly deadlier strain of the coronavirus first identified in Britain, B.1.1.7, that has seen considerable growth in San Diego County, which has already likely resulted in one death there and represents nearly one-quarter of the known cases nationwide.
The LA Times looks into how fans of this spectacle have to be responsible.
The history of the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the NFL
Who is Vince Lombardi anyway?
Talking of the trophy, another questiion we're repeatedly seeing is about the name, design, value and history behind the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
As always, we're here to help...
Has Patrick Mahomes ever won a Super Bowl?
Mahomes is ringing
He's the man hotly tipped to pick up the MVP award tomorrow night, but we're getting asked by many of our followers if the 25-year-old quarterback has ever lifted the famous Lombardi Trophy before.
It feels like they should know the answer, but then again, there are new lovers of this game joining all the time.
Super Bowl predictions
...from Fallon's puppies!!
Jimmy released the pups that were representing both the Bucs and the Chiefs to see which would get to the touchdown treats first.
And the winner was... (it's too cute to spoli the surprise of you watching!)
“Just lay low and cool it" - Dr. Fauci's advice ahead of Super Bowl
The nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has warned fans against hosting Super Bowl parties this weekend to avoid the occassion becoming a super spreader event.
“You don’t want parties with people that you haven’t had much contact with,” he told NBC’s “Today” show. “You just don’t know if they’re infected, so, as difficult as that is, at least this time around, just lay low and cool it.”
Super Bowl winners: which team has won each year?
Super Bowl winners: which team has won each year?
The Super Bowl has been contested since 1967 and several teams have lifted the Vince Lombardy Trophy. Check out who achieved victory year-by-year...
Chiefs fans wade into enemy waters for back-to-back Super Bowl bid
Kansas City red dotted a sea of Buccaneers burgundy in Tampa this week as intrepid Chiefs fans entered enemy waters ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl showdown. For just the fourth time in 20 years, a reigning Super Bowl winner will feature in a consecutive NFL championship game, a rare honor that this year came with no small amount of swagger for Chiefs fans, who watched their team hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Miami in 2020 after a five-decade drought.
The Kansas City loyal said this week that they weren't deterred by the hometown crowd in Tampa, which has its own bragging rights, as the first city ever to host their own team in the Super Bowl. "I know the Kansas City fans – they travel, they travel well," said Anthony Barnes, a lifelong Chiefs fan clad in top tight end Travis Kelce's jersey, who flew in from Kansas City to mingle among the crowd at the NFL's Super Bowl Experience. "We’re known to go to a city and almost take it over."
An array of team affiliations were represented at the league's outdoor showcase, where attendees waited hours for a glimpse of the Lombardi Trophy and fans of the Bucs and the Chiefs were represented in virtually equal measure. A limited crowd of 22,000 fans - including 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers to whom the NFL offered free tickets - will be allowed to attend in the 65,618-capacity Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, along with 2,700 fans watching from suites.
"It's different than when we went to Miami by a long way," said Chiefs fanatic Deb Page, who hails from Wichita, Kansas, and moved to nearby St. Petersburg five years ago. "We were a big presence in Miami... Here, you’re on home turf. So it’s different, very different."
The Chiefs rolled into Tampa after yet another blockbuster season, thanks in large part to reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, who finished second in the league in passing yards en route to a 14-2 record. The team is angling to become the first to win back-to-back titles since the 2003-04 New England Patriots, who were led by the current Bucs' quarterback Tom Brady. By Friday night, Brady's new hometown advantage was clear, as a packed crowd - overwhelmingly dressed in Bucs jerseys and apparel - came to watch the Gasparilla Pirate Ship set off a dazzling fireworks display on the Tampa waterfront, kicking off the Super Bowl weekend.
"We feel like it’s Tampa Bay 60% then 30% everyone else and maybe 10% us," said Alex Vanderveen, a 26-year-old real estate agent who adopted the Chiefs after moving to Kansas City four years ago. "So we find our Chiefs fans, we get excited. 'We’ve got to just be a little bit louder than everyone else." (Report by Reuters)
Superman is a Chiefs fan
British actor and current Superman Henry Cavilll has revealed he'll be rooting for the Chiefs this weekend. The current star of hit-TV series The Watcher spends a lot of time in the US to record the show and has since become a big NFL fan. He explained to Jimmy Kimmel why he chose the Chiefs as his team.
“So I spend a lot of time over here, obviously, and I’d been watching some American football. I started to like the sport, and I realized I had to choose a team. And the only way I could choose a team was with something that was never gonna change,” Cavill said.
“I figured the one thing that won’t ever change is the Superman aspect of it. And I figured Superman’s from Kansas, people in Kansas support the Chiefs, it just all added up."
The Tampa Bay Penguins who have come closest to the Vince Lombardi trophy
Three penguins, Cliff, Kini, and Pebbles got to check out the NFL Super Bowl Experience...
Super Bowl LV odds and predictions: who is the favourite to win?
Super Bowl LV odds and predictions: who is the favourite to win?
Sunday sees reigning Super Bowl MVP in Patrick Mahomes vs. the greatest of all time in Tom Brady, but who will come out on top?
Full story:
Tampa Bay Mayor offers a box of tissues to Chiefs fans
The Tampa Bay mayor has said she has a special gift for her Kansas City conterpart and Chiefs fans arriving at Tampa Bay Airport this weekend.
"I've made it possible for every one of the Kansas City fans that are with him on this flight to receive a complimentary box of facial tissues so that they'll be able to dry the tears when we win".
BURN!
In pictures: Brandon Brown of Largo, Florida spends time with his son Cameron, 2 on the Tampa Riverwalk at the Super Bowl Experience presented by Lowe’s at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park ahead of the weekend's Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida, U.S., February 5, 2021. REUTERS/Eve Edelheit
Buccaneers vs Chiefs: how much do Super Bowl LV ads cost?
How much do Super Bowl LV ads cost?
The TV commercials aired during the Super Bowl are one of the event's most hotly-anticipated features - but advertisers have to be prepared to dig deep for the privilege.
Full story...
SB ticket prices highest in a decade
Considering their scarcity with only 25,000 fans set to be in attendance, Super Bowl tickets are not going cheap with prices higher than for any other Super Bowl in over a decade.
"The average price of a ticket sold this year is $7,589, compared with $6,410 this time last year," reports MarkerWatch...
Porsche ad from last year's Super Bowl
The Super Bowl half-time ads are always special. Here is a look back on our the ‘The Heist’ advert from last year, featuring all of these Porsche models...
Brady on verge of turning Bucs into Super Bowl champs
Brady on verge of turning lowly Bucs into Super Bowl champs
(Reuters) - When Tom Brady left the Patriots after two decades for the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason, he said he was doing so to see "how great I can be".
Before the season even started, Brady, who signed a two-year, $50 million deal with the Bucs, took matters into his own hands by bringing longtime Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski out of retirement to join him in Tampa.
The team played its best football in the final month of the season including upset wins over the Saints and Green Bay Packers in the playoffs to set up a meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday with the Lombardi Trophy on the line.
"Part of the reason why I came here is because there were a lot of great things here - a great coaching staff, great players. I felt like I could come in and really help the team win," Brady told reporters.
Full story:
Explosive plays potentially decisive in Super Bowl
The Chiefs have established themselves as the most devastating offensive team in the NFL. Drawing comparisons to the NBA's Golden State Warriors at the peak of their powers, the Chiefs' ability to score deluges of points helps them put games to bed in a hurry.
Tampa Bay learned that the hard way in the regular-season meeting between these two teams back in Week 12 when the Chiefs surged into a 17-0 lead en route to a 27-24 win.
Mahomes had 229 passing yards in the first quarter while Tyreek Hill had 203 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the same period.
The Buccaneers simply cannot afford to have the Chiefs get such a jump on them this time around and, if they are to successfully go toe to toe with the champions, they will need to maintain their tendency for quick strikes.
Hello and welcome
Good morning as we continue our rolling live coverage of all the news and reaction during the build-up to Sunday's Super Bowl LV in Tampa between the Bucs and the Chiefs. Stay with us for your Super Bowl fix!