| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Feb 08, 2021 | | 🏈 Good morning! We stayed up all night to ensure you woke up to a complete recap of Super Bowl LV. Because that's what friends are for. 📆 Reminder: Tomorrow we'll be publishing a special edition newsletter on the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the geopolitical tensions rumbling beneath the surface. Today's word count: 2,073 words (8 minutes). | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏆 Champa Bay |  | | | Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images | | | | The Buccaneers crushed the Chiefs, 31-9, winning Super Bowl LV in front of 25,000 socially distanced fans at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Why it matters: With the win, Tom Brady moves to 7-3 in the Super Bowl, further cementing his legacy as the G.O.A.T. at the expense of Patrick Mahomes — the player with perhaps the best shot at one day challenging Brady's throne. The big picture: For all the ink spilled prior to the game about a dream QB matchup and two fairly evenly matched teams, this was a one-sided affair nearly from the jump. - The Bucs were a half-inch away from scoring touchdowns on five straight drives, while the Chiefs got inside the red zone just three times all night.
- The win capped an epic run in which the Bucs became the first team in NFL postseason history with four, 30-point games and the first to beat three Super Bowl MVPs en route to the Lombardi Trophy (Mahomes, Rodgers, Brees).
- As for the QB comparison? Well, Mahomes is now 6-2 in his young postseason career ... with Brady responsible for both losses.
Top performers: - Brady (21/29, 201 yards, 3 TD) won his record-extending fifth Super Bowl MVP.
- Rob Gronkowski (6 catches, 67 yards, 2 TD) moved into second place all-time in Super Bowl catches (29), receiving yards (364) and receiving TD (5). He trails Jerry Rice in all three.
- Leonard Fournette: 135 total yards, TD
- Travis Kelce: 10 catches, 133 yards
By the numbers: It's worth parsing just how tough Mahomes' night really was, thanks in large part to the Bucs' fearsome pass rush and a masterful gameplan, put together by DC Todd Bowles. - Mahomes ran 497 yards (!!!) before his pass attempts and sacks, the most by a QB all season.
- He was pressured 29 times, more than any QB in Super Bowl history. That forced him to scramble most of the night (on a bad foot).
- His 52.3 passer rating was the worst of his career.
- This was just the fifth time (in 54 career games) he failed to throw a touchdown, and the third time he failed to score entirely.
- Wild stat: This was not only the first time Mahomes lost by more than one score as a pro, but the margin of defeat (22 points) was exactly half of the combined deficit in the nine previous games he'd lost (44 points).
Between the lines: Mahomes was hardly helped by his teammates, who dropped multiple passes and got flagged at a historically bad rate. - The Chiefs' 11 penalties for 120 yards were the worst in the Andy Reid era (2013–present), and the six that resulted in Bucs' first downs were the most in Super Bowl history.
- Of note: Many thought the refs called a tighter game than usual, mostly benefiting the Bucs. "Neither defensive hold called on KC comes close to the standard we saw the entire season," tweeted veteran NFL ref Terry McAulay.
The bottom line: With the Lightning and Bucs winning championships, and the Rays barely losing the World Series, Tampa has completed one of the greatest five-month stretches in sports history. - And while the pandemic forced the Stanley Cup and World Series into neutral sites, Tampa fans got to witness this one in their own backyard.
- It's the first time a team has won the Super Bowl at home in the game's 55-year history.
Go deeper: NFL defenses no longer dominate, making Bucs' shutdown of Chiefs even more impressive (WashPost) |     | | | | | | 2. 🐐 Stairway to seven |  | | | Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images | | | | Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback to ever walk the planet. - If there was any doubt left — any question about whether he was merely a product of the Patriots or Bill Belichick — he dispelled it this season.
- Brady needed just 11 months to turn the NFL's worst franchise (.393 winning percentage) into Super Bowl champions.
- Sunday's win was a true team effort, but make no mistake: No. 12 brought the Bucs to the promised land, through both his play and leadership.
By the numbers: Brady, 43, has more Super Bowl wins than any NFL team. It's completely insane. - Brady: 7
- Patriots: 6
- Steelers: 6
- Cowboys: 5
- 49ers: 5
Fun facts: - Brady's 19-year span between championships (2001–2020) is a North American major sports record, and it's not far off Jack Nicklaus' golf record of 24 years between majors (1962–1986).
- His fifth Super Bowl MVP extends his own record and breaks a tie with LeBron James for second-most championship round MVPs in NFL/NBA/MLB/NHL history. He trails only Michael Jordan (6).
- Sunday marked the first time that Brady's team held a lead in the first quarter of a Super Bowl.
What they're saying: My dad and I watched the game at our beach house in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. My uncle emailed us after the final whistle: "I was at Kiawah on the first day of the 21st century watching Brady beat Alabama in OT in his last college game. Hard to imagine 21 years later you guys would be there watching him win yet another Super Bowl." — Uncle Neal The longevity legends ... Brady is the first NFL player to win championships in three different decades. Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra and Jim Palmer did this in baseball, Henri Richard in hockey and Pelé in soccer (World Cups). Go deeper: Winners and losers (The Ringer) | | | | | | | | 3. 📸 Photos of the night | | Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Brady and Gronk won their fourth Super Bowl together after the former lured the latter out of retirement. Their rapport never waned. - "Tom saw that and put the ball where I could go get it," said Gronk of the quick change in direction that opened up space for his second score. "Something like that goes back to the chemistry we've built over the years."
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images Mahomes struggled all night, hampered by an injured foot that will require surgery and an offensive line that just couldn't hack it against the Bucs' furious pass rush. - Reminder: Kansas City's two best offensive linemen, Mitchell Schwartz and Eric Fisher, both missed the game with injuries.
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images 25,000 fans packed into the stadium (capacity: 65,890) alongside 30,000 cardboard cutouts. - The cutouts cost $100 each, with proceeds going to local charities.
Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images The Weeknd's halftime performance was clearly designed for at-home consumption. What normally takes place on a sprawling stage unfurled mostly in the stands, with close-up shots helping create a more intimate experience. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Transforming Communication: Write Less, Say More | | |  | | | | Join Axios for a sharp discussion on the shifting communications landscape and how innovative companies are keeping up, featuring Yolanda Brignoni, Sara Fischer, Nick Johnston, Jim VandeHei and Lindsey Sullivan. Register now. | | | | | | 4. 😷 What to watch: Super Bowl spike |  Data: The COVID Tracking Project; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios Many of America's COVID-19 spikes came on the heels of holidays, when friends and families gathered to celebrate. Could Super Bowl LV lead to another spike? Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images Rewind: The 49ers' loss to the Chiefs in last year's Super Bowl may have prevented the spread of the virus, per WSJ (subscription). - Celebrations would have been held if they'd won, and COVID-19 was already spreading in the Bay Area at the time (it didn't reach Kansas City until March).
| | | | | | | | 5. 🥤 How Super Bowl ads performed instantly |  Data: goPuff; Table: Axios Visuals In an on-demand world, ads can drive instant sales. So how did last night's commercials perform? We partnered with delivery service goPuff to find out. The winner: Pringles introduced the BBQ Pizza Stack during their first-quarter commercial and goPuff customers immediately wanted to replicate it. - Pringles' order volume nearly doubled in the hour following the spot (vs. the preceding hour), the strongest performance of any brand with products sold on goPuff.
- Rounding out the top four: M&M's, Bud Light Seltzer and Mountain Dew.
How it works: We created an "Instant Buzz Index" to compare goPuff orders for the hour following each brand's ad to goPuff orders for the hour preceding it. - The brand with the highest percentage change was given a score of 100, the brand with the smallest percentage change was given a score of 0, and all other values were scaled accordingly.
More data: - Peak order time: goPuff orders peaked right after kickoff. Orders were 33% higher in the 6:45–7:00pm ET window than throughout the rest of the night.
- Ice cream wins: Ben & Jerry's and Coca-Cola were the two most ordered brands during pregame (present in 9% of orders). Ben & Jerry's got even more popular during the game (16% of orders), while Coke remained steady (8%).
- White Claw wins: Fans ordered White Claw 76% more frequently than the next most popular alcohol (Bud Light).
- Makes sense: Chiefs fans were salty. 51% of all Kansas City customers purchased a salty snack (i.e. chips), compared to 37% of Tampa Bay customers.
| | | | | | | | 6. 🏟 Fan perspective: "A sea of red" | | Adam and Kelly Walton. Photo: Adam Walton Adam Walton, a Buccaneers fan and Axios Sports reader, attended the Super Bowl with his wife, Kelly. I spoke to him after the game. "A sea of red:" Walton said he was shocked at all the Bucs and Chiefs red. I went to Super Bowl 50, and it was probably half Panthers and Broncos fans, with the rest being neutral spectators who were just there to have fun. This was all fans. I was talking to somebody on the way out who'd been to a bunch of Super Bowls, and he was saying none of the corporate sponsors had people who wanted to go or were able to go. So it was probably the first Super Bowl where it was truly about the fans. Photo: Adam Walton "It was silent:" Normally, the Super Bowl halftime performance takes place on the field, with thousands of fans crowded around the stage. Not this year. At Super Bowl 50, I remember the sidelines were filled with props and people, and there was all this commotion as the first half wound down. It was this rehearsed construction bonanza that happened over a four-minute period, and it was epic to see hundreds of people moving around. With this one, it was silent. There was none of that. Photo: Adam Walton "Finally celebrating:" The Lightning won the Stanley Cup and the Rays made the World Series, but all of it happened far away from the Tampa Bay area. This weekend, people were finally able to celebrate. As I was driving out, there was just a parade of cars waving flags, going left and right. I mean, people were finally celebrating. We missed the opportunity to celebrate the Lightning and Rays. We finally got that opportunity tonight, and I think fans — whether they were able to go to the game or not — really rallied around that. And that was cool to see. | | | | | | | | 7. 🙏 Five-year-old girl in critical condition |  | | | Ariel. Photo: GoFundMe | | | | A five-year-old girl named Ariel remains in critical condition — and has yet to wake up — after a car accident on Thursday night, Jeff writes. What happened: A truck allegedly driven by Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, head coach Andy's son, struck two cars stopped on the side of the highway. - Ariel was in one of those cars with family who'd been summoned by the other car, which had run out of gas and needed assistance.
- According to police, Reid had two to three drinks and had taken prescription Adderall prior to getting behind the wheel.
What they're saying: After the game, the elder Reid spoke on the event for the first time: - "My heart goes out to all those who were involved in the accident, in particular the family with the little girl who's fighting for her life."
- Reid said it wasn't a distraction, but it's hard to imagine such a devastating event not having had an impact on the Chiefs this weekend.
Support the family: A GoFundMe has been set up for Ariel's medical expenses, and as of early Monday morning, it had raised nearly $300,000. | | | | | | | | 8. 💉 What's next: NFL vaccine centers |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote President Biden on Thursday to tell him that each of the league's 32 teams "will make its stadium available for mass vaccinations of the general public." - Goodell said this can be done swiftly "because many of our clubs have offered their facilities previously as COVID testing centers as well as election sites over the past several months."
The state of play: Massachusetts has tapped Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillivray to run vaccination operations at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. - He's part of a group of event organizers and unconventional logistics experts involved in the vaccine rollout.
- When a South Carolina drive-thru clinic got backed up, the town mayor decided to call in a professional for help: a Chick-fil-A manager.
Go deeper: About 10% of Americans have gotten a coronavirus vaccine (Axios) | | | | | | | | 9. 🏈 MVP trivia |  | | | Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images | | | | In non-Super Bowl news, Aaron Rodgers was named league MVP on Saturday, becoming just the sixth player to win the award at least three times. - Question: Who are the other five players?
- Hint: Four QBs, one RB.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. ⭐️ Best everything |  | | | Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images | | | | Giphy | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Transforming Communication: Write Less, Say More | | | | | | | | Join Axios for a sharp discussion on the shifting communications landscape and how innovative companies are keeping up, featuring Yolanda Brignoni, Sara Fischer, Nick Johnston, Jim VandeHei and Lindsey Sullivan. Register now. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Farewell, football" Baker Trivia answer: Peyton Manning (5), Tom Brady (3), Brett Favre (3), Johnny Unitas (3), Jim Brown (3) | | Invite friends to follow Axios Sports Use your personal link to track how many readers you bring into the community  You currently have 00 referrals. Share with a friend For questions email referralsupport@axios.com. Participation in the Axios Sports Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the Axios Terms and Conditions of Use, which can be viewed here. | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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