Kansas City Chiefs claim victory over Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV rematch

Chiefs beat Bucs 41-31

The Buccaneers cut the Chiefs lead to 38-24 in Sunday night’s game in Tampa, Florida on a 1-yard touchdown run by Rachaad White, who graduated from Center High School in Kansas City.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers then watched the Chiefs use a 46-yard drive to set up a field goal by new kicker Matthew Wright. That pushed the lead to 41-24 early in the fourth quarter.

After a Patrick Mahomes interception, the Buccaneers had a short field and Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady found Leonard Fournette on a 5-yard touchdown pas. That cut the lead to 41-31 with 3:30 to play in the game.

That’s how the game ended. Here are full highlights from the game. And here’s a recap.

Still going strong

To start the third quarter, the Chiefs picked up where they left off in the first half.

On their first drive, the Chiefs moved 49 yards in 10 plays and Wright made a 44-yard field goal. The defense forced the Buccaneers to punt, and the Chiefs offense put together and even longer drive.

The Chiefs drove 65 yards and found the end zone when quarterback Mahomes threw a 10-yard pass to Jody Fortson. This gave the Chiefs a 38-17 lead.

Halftime score: Chiefs lead Bucs 28-17

The Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded touchdowns in the second quarter. Twice.

Mahomes has made some incredible throws in his NFL career, and this amazing pass Sunday night definitely makes the highlight reel.

Mahomes somehow avoided a sack, then seemed ready to try to run for a score before tossing an improbable throw to Clyde Edwards-Helaire for a touchdown, giving the Chiefs a 21-3 lead.

The Buccaneers responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive in six plays. Brady threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans to cut the Chiefs advantage to 21-10.

Kansas City restored the 18-point lead thanks to a clever play design. On the goal line, Mahomes looked to his left as tight end Noah Gray went in motion. Gray then went under center, took the snap and scored a touchdown.

Back came the Buccaneers, who drove 75 yards and Brady threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Evans. That made it a 28-17 Chiefs lead at the half.

Third-down success

The Chiefs converted a trio of third-down plays on their second drive

Those conversions were part of a 12-play drive that covered 79 yards and was capped by running back Jerick McKinnon handing off to Clyde Edwards-Helaire who bulled his way through the Buccaneers defense for a 3-yard touchdown run.

This play gave the Chiefs a 14-3 lead.

A great start

The game couldn’t have started any better for the Chiefs as they forced a turnover and got a touchdown in 46 seconds.

On the game’s opening kickoff, the Buccaneers’ Rachaad White fumbled after being hit by Chris Lammons, and Elijah Lee recovered at the Tampa Bay 21. Two plays later, Patrick Mahomes threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce.

That gave the Chiefs a 7-0 lead in 46 seconds and it came after a miscue by White, a graduate of Center High School in Kansas City.

Tampa Bay got a field goal on its opening drive to make it 7-3.

Florida Strong

Buccaneers nose tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches, who played for the Chiefs from 2015-17, showed his support for the state of Florida, which was hit by Hurricane Ian this past week.

Nunez-Roches, a sixth-round choice by the Chiefs in the 2015 NFL Draft, wore a T-shirt with the words “Florida Strong” with the Buccaneers flag.

Game referee

A referee who should look very familiar to Chiefs fans will work Kansas City’s “Sunday Night Football” game against the Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida.

Bill Vinovich, who was the referee for Super Bowl LIV, will be the top official at Sunday’s game, per Yahoo Sports. Vinovich spent some time in the spotlight in that game when NFL Films highlighted the Chiefs’ iconic Jet Chip Wasp play.

Before anyone thinks that’s a good omen for the Chiefs, Vinovich also was the referee in last season’s AFC Championship Game, which the Bengals won in overtime in Kansas City.

But Vinovich, who has been an NFL official for 22 years, including the previous 19 as a referee, also worked two Chiefs regular-season games in 2021. They were both KC victories: 41-14 at Las Vegas and 33-29 over the Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.

How to watch the game

The Chiefs face the Buccaneers in a Super Bowl LV rematch. Kickoff for Sunday’s game is 7:20 p.m., and the game will air on NBC (Channel 41 in Kansas City).

This Chiefs receiver will play

The Chiefs’ list of inactive players came out approximately 90 minutes before kickoff today, and it’s notable because of who is not on it: offseason acquisition Marquez Valdes-Scantling

The Chiefs receiver is deemed healthy enough to be suited up for action Sunday night. You can reach more about that here.

Who are national experts predicting will win?

Here’s a look at who some observers around the country are thinking will win Sunday night’s showdown in Tampa.