The Bucs won the Super Bowl by making Patrick Mahomes run for his life as no other QB had before
- The Buccaneers defense stifled Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in the Super Bowl.
- Thanks to solid pressure from their front four and great coverage, Mahomes had nowhere to go.
- Instead of throwing touchdowns, Mahomes spent the game running for his life.
Patrick Mahomes could not escape the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense in Super Bowl LV.
The most prolific passer of his generation spent most of the Super Bowl running for his life in a collapsing pocket, pursued mercilessly by the Tampa Bay pass rush.
The result was the worst game of Mahomes' career and a 31-9 defeat in the Kansas City Chiefs' attempt at a title defense.
Diving into the numbers after the final whistle makes clear just how overpowering a performance the Tampa defense put on.
Mahomes faced more pressure than any quarterback had ever encountered in a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Tom Brady was as comfortable as he's even been inside the pocket.
This dominance from the Buccaneers' front four was on display all game. Play after play, Mahomes could do nothing but run away from the pressure and hope for a miracle.
For what it's worth, Mahomes was doing everything he could to make some magic as the walls around him fell like the final stages of a castle siege. On a critical fourth down, Mahomes threw this astounding pass while nearly parallel to the ground. It will go down as one of the greatest incompletions in NFL history.
But despite his best effort, Mahomes still spent most of the night running backward. According to Next Gen Stats, Mahomes traveled 497 yards in the backfield during his dropbacks on Sunday, the highest total they have ever recorded.
The Buccaneers defense chased Mahomes a third of a mile into his own backfield throughout the game. If you spend that much time moving backward, it's tough ever to get the ball forward.
Tampa Bay dominated in all facets of the game on Sunday, but the pressure they put on Mahomes is what made the Chiefs fall apart.