Super Bowl LV: Rob Gronkowski leads Tampa Bay Buccaneers with two TDs as Tom Brady wins seventh ring
- Buccaneers upset Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in a one-sided affair in which an injured Patrick Mahomes struggled
- Brady wins sixth Super Bowl MVP award and first without the New England Patriots
Rob Gronkowski, who came out of retirement after one season to join Brady and the Buccaneers from the New England Patriots, had two touchdown catches in the win.
The GOAT extended his Super Bowl titles’ record in his 10th appearance, his first without Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The 43-year-old Brady broke his own mark for oldest player to win a Super Bowl and joins Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks to win one with multiple franchises.
The Buccaneers (15-5) won their second NFL title and first in 18 years while becoming the first team to play the big game at home, capping an unusual and challenging season played through the novel coronavirus. They won three road games as a wild-card team to reach the Super Bowl.
Tampa’s victory prevented Mahomes and the Chiefs (16-3) from becoming the first repeat champions since Brady’s Patriots did it in 2003-04.
The NFL completed its 269-game season on time without any cancellations, a remarkable accomplishment that required nearly one million Covid-19 tests for players and team personnel.
Due to the virus, only 25,000 mask-wearing fans were allowed in, including around 7,500 vaccinated health care workers who were given free tickets by the NFL. About 30,000 cardboard cut-outs made the stadium look full.
