Ahead of Super Bowl LV between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sportsnet writers will break down why each team can win the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday.
You can’t talk about Super Bowl LV without a ton of GOAT references – it’s inevitable when we’re talk about the NFL’s Greatest Of All Time going for championship win No. 7 against the 25-year-old kid (we mean that in the baby-GOAT sense, of course) who’s looking for his second straight title.
We know that GOAT conversation is locked up (for now), so if Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are going to beat Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday, it’s going to come down to this:
A wolf, a giraffe, a cheetah and Honey Badger.
Asked during Super Bowl media week what he’d like his spirit animal to be, Mahomes chose a wolf.
“I would like to be a wolf, kind of run around with my pack and being able to be a leader, someone that continues to attack and continues to lead as much as possible,” he said.
Mahomes was then asked what animal would best serve as tight end Travis Kelce’s spirit animal.
“It’s got to be something funny … I think he’d be a giraffe. He’s kind of just out there, grazing around the field, trying to make something happen,” said Mahomes. “He’s always a good time.”
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill is the fastest man in the football kingdom with his cheetah-like speed (it’s also his Twitter handle), and we all know the Honey Badger: safety Tyronn Mathieu plays as tenaciously now as he did back in college when he earned the nickname for his fearlessness on the field.
So, what do you get when you pit a GOAT against these four? You get a Chiefs Super Bowl victory and the league’s first back-to-back champs since Brady and the New England Patriots last won two straight in 2003 and 2004.
Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes’ one and only post-season loss came in 2019, hand-delivered by Tom Brady himself on his way to winning the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Now equipped with a Super Bowl win of his own after winning last year’s championship, Mahomes looks poised to run it back and do something Brady never did: win back-to-back Super Bowl MVP awards.
Mahomes enters Sunday’s showdown riding a personal 12-game win streak (including regular season and playoffs) and his numbers are otherworldly during that time span: 320.5 passing yards per game, a 29-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 32 passes of 25 yards or more and a quarterback rating of 110.1.
Just when we think we have a grasp of how good he is, Mahomes goes and does something outrageous – a no-look pass, a flawless pumpfake, etc. – and makes it look effortless.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle working against Mahomes is actually his own wolfpack (that’s what we’re gonna call the offensive line now). Pieced together through injuries and ailments all season, Mahomes’ ability to work his magic behind this group is a testament to his own ingenious and the offence around him, coached by Eric Bienemy. He’ll have his work cut out for him against a Buccaneers defence that has been dominant all season and even better in these playoffs. Tampa’s fearsome front four will be relentless, and Mahomes’ ability to thrive under pressure, as we’ve seen all season at the expense of anyone who dares try to blitz him, will be put to the ultimate test.
Travis Kelce & Tyreek Hill
Having one of Travis Kelce or Tyreek Hill would give any offence a massive advantage. Put ‘em together and have Mahomes throwing to them, and you’ve got an offensive trio that’s just downright unfair.
Kelce is unguardable in the red zone and boasts the kind of speed, physicality and versatility that make him one of the best tight ends to have ever played. Hill, meanwhile, has some of the surest hands in the game and is simply impossible to keep up with.
Hill’s 15 touchdown receptions this season were a career-best and ranked him second league-wide, and he’s coming off his best post-season showing yet – he tallied 172 yards through the air against Buffalo in the AFC Championship – and is just seven yards shy of setting a new franchise record for the most yards in a single post-season. And it just so happens that the finest game of Hill’s career came just a few months ago against the Buccaneers: his 269 receiving yards and three touchdowns against Tampa Bay back on Nov. 29 could be a sign of what’s to come this Sunday.
Kelce, meanwhile, is also playing some of his best football right now. He’s riding a six-game touchdown streak and finished the 2020 regular season second in receiving yards (1,416) behind just Stefon Diggs (1,535).
These two are gonna be a problem in Tampa Bay.
Tyrann Mathieu
Between their defensive line and a pair of linebackers who have wreaked havoc on some of the league’s best this year, it’s clear that Tampa Bay holds the advantage when it comes to defence in this matchup.
But Kansas City holds the wild card in Tyrann Mathieu – the star safety who’s about as versatile as they come.
His six interceptions in the regular season (including one against Brady in that November matchup in Tampa) ranked him third league-wide in the category, and his ability to lock down opponents is simply special – just ask the Buccaneers.
This matchup is extra significant for Mathieu, who was drafted by Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians in Arizona back in 2013. During a media availability this week, Arians called Mathieu his “favourite draft choice of all time.”
“I just love him, his passion for football, but I am so proud of the man he’s become,” Arians said.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
