Kick-off: 2330, 07/02/2021
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium
TV: BBC/Sky Sports
Kansas City are fancied to become the first team since 2004 to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy two years running by taking care of Tampa Bay.
The Buccaneers have home advantage and the Tom Brady factor in their favour, but the all-conquering Chiefs still get the nod to prove a class apart.
We’re taking 19/20 for KC to prevail by more than 3.5 points for the first of our 2021 Super Bowl predictions.
A Look At Kansas City Chiefs’ Betting Odds
The Chiefs came from behind to beat San Francisco 31-20 in last year’s decider and again showed great self-confidence to overcome a slow start versus Buffalo in this season’s AFC Championship game.
After trailing 9-0, Kansas City posted 31 points across the second and third quarters as Bills quarterback Josh Allen struggled against an aggressive defence.
Patrick Mahomes was as explosive as ever, finishing with 325 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 38-24 triumph.
Head coach Andy Reid will have been hugely relieved to see his superstar playmaker sparkle after suffering a concussion injury in the previous week’s hard-fought win over Cleveland.
Mahomes has an almost-magical ability to avoid being sacked under pressure and when he is on song, the Chiefs are hard to contain.
They won 27-24 at this venue in Week 12 of the regular season, but only two unanswered fourth-quarter touchdowns for Tampa Bay made the final scoreline flatter the Bucs.
The hosts will no doubt keep plugging away again here, but 15/4 for the Chiefs to oblige by 6-10 points this time is another attractive option from the 2021 Super Bowl odds.
A Look At Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Betting Odds
Brady’s march to a 10th Super Bowl appearance is a fantastic story, having claimed six past triumphs from nine attempts during his stellar career with New England.
After seeing off Washington 31-23 on Wildcard Weekend, Tampa Bay have twice upset the odds in beating New Orleans 30-20 and Green Bay 31-26, completing a hat-trick of road wins.
The NFC Championship match-up was billed as the battle of the veteran quarterbacks between Brady and Aaron Rodgers, but the Buccaneers capitalised on some costly turnovers to stretch out to a 21-10 lead at half-time.
Green Bay’s sloppiness cost them again at the start of the third quarter as a fumble led to Brady finding Cameron Brate in the end zone to push the deficit out to 18.
However, the Packers defence finally clicked into gear, intercepting Brady on three occasions to help set up a tense finish.
Any play-off win at Lambeau Field warrants the utmost respect, but the way Tampa Bay’s offence stalled in the second half gives cause for concern.
On the other side of the ball, the Buccaneers couldn’t cope with the speed of Tyreek Hill when these teams met in November, with the wide receiver catching three touchdown passes from Mahomes.
The 26-year-old flyer had a career-best 15 scores this season and appeals at 6/1 to grab the opening TD in our 2021 Super Bowl betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
KANSAS CITY 38-24 Buffalo
Green Bay 26-31 TAMPA BAY
Head-to-head: Tampa Bay 24-27 Kansas City, Kansas City 17-19 Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay 38-10 Kansas City, Kansas City 0-25 Tampa Bay
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