As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, many opinions and hot takes are circling around the Middle School. This is the first time in eighteen years that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it to a Super Bowl and the first time ever that the Super Bowl has been played on a team’s home field. This year’s big game will be one for the ages. Tom Brady has the most Super Bowl rings and has been in 10 super bowls, in his 21 seasons. That makes Brady’s chance of getting to the Super Bowl almost 50%. Patrick Mahomes has arguably had the best start to an NFL career ever. Mahomes has made 2 Super Bowls in 3 years. The Kid vs The GOAT.

These teams last faced off in Week 12 of the current season, and the Chiefs prevailed with a 27-24 win. Kansas City jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter with Tyreek Hill gaining 203 yards and 2 TDS only in the first quarter. The Chiefs defense slowly let the Bucs get back into the game with the Bucs scoring 14 unanswered points in the 4th quarter. Despite the score, it was clear the Chiefs were dominating the majority of the game.

The Chiefs have an electric offense, having the most total yards per game in the NFL this year. They have countless weapons, including Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman, Clyde Edwards Helaire. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill is extremely fast and borderline unguardable. Tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are the best at their position in the league. The downfall of the Chiefs may be their run defense, however. They are ranked 20th overall in rush defense and that could create problems with Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette in the Bucs backfield. Moreover, the Chiefs have a very average pass defense, and will be hard to cover wideouts Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown, as well as Gronk (tight end Rob Gronkowski).

The Bucs have a strong receiving core and a great backfield. They have the second-best pass offense in the league behind the Chiefs. Judging by the Chief’s average pass defense, I think Tom Brady could throw all over their defense with his many weapons. I think for both teams, in the end, the outcome will come down to defense. They both have electric offenses, and a turnover on defense could change the game.

The Vegas odds are showing the Chiefs to be favored on Super Bowl Sunday but some Westminster students and faculty think differently. 8th grader Brand Morgan has a strong opinion on the game: ”I think the Bucs are  gonna win because they have Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, and that’s about all you need to win a Super Bowl.” That sure is a hot take. He also claims to be “97% correct on sports predictions,” which I find extremely hard to believe, but I guess we will watch the game to see. Brand says “The score of the game will be 31-10.” I heard similar predictions from Coach White: “I think Tom Brady has the Chiefs’ number; last couple times they have played in the playoffs he has controlled them. I’m taking Tampa.” I think if either team gets ahead, we shouldn’t count out the other team. Mahomes is 4-1 in the playoffs when down by 2 or more scores, and that only loss is to Brady. Brady has six comeback playoffs wins, but he has also played five times as many playoff games as Mahomes.

The current over/under—a bet on whether the outcome of an event (usually the combined score of a sports game) will be above or below a number established in advance by the bookmaker—is 57 points, and I’ll take the over. Both of these offenses are electric and score heavy. Overall, I’m taking the Chiefs. Their explosive play style and Andy Reid’s playbook will create so many problems for the Bucs defense. The Chiefs are 44-11 in the last three years, and they just have too many weapons. It’s time for Mahomes to take the championship torch from Brady.