Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl Matchup Preview (2/7/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Regardless of Championship Sunday outcomes, we were going to get a strong Super Bowl 55 matchup. It is now settled, and we have Tom Brady in his tenth Super Bowl and Patrick Mahomes going for his second Super Bowl in his first four years. Tom Brady also did the same, and if we are looking for GOATs of the future, Mahomes can make a statement this game. Tampa and Kansas City both averaged a combined 60.3 points per game this season, and the total is over 55. Tampa Bay will be the true home team as they are playing at their home stadium, and while there won’t be a home-field advantage in the sense of fans, they will have no travel where the Cheifs come in the Friday before the Super Bowl. Both of these teams played back in Week 12, where the Cheifs won by a field goal. The spread and total were just about the same, so they are dealing with identical odds. However, both of these teams have been better defensively of late, and the Chiefs looked to have flipped that playoff switch. This will be an entertaining one. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the Kansas City Chiefs At Tampa Bay Buccaneers Matchup Page.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, February 7th, 2021
Time: 6:30 PM ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL
TV Coverage: CBS

Chiefs vs. Buccaneers Live Stream

Where can you watch Chiefs vs. Buccaneers online? You can stream this game and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Chiefs Vs. Buccaneers Free Online Now.

Injuries:

Kansas City Chiefs: Le’Veon Bell (P), Sammy Watkins (P), Mitchell Schwartz (D), Eric Fisher (O), Willie Gay, Armani Watts (Q), L’Jarius Sneed (Q)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jordan Whitehead (Q), Antonio Brown (P), Antoine Winfield Jr. (Q)

Kansas City Chiefs Analysis

The Chiefs will get some players back from injury this week, as Le’Veon Bell and Sammy Watkins are listed as probable. However, the offensive line issues continue with Eric Fisher suffering a season-ending injury against the Bills. Kansas City also got Clyde Edwards-Helaire back last week, and while Tampa is a top-five run defense, the Chiefs getting him back is a major plus. 2020 was another year of racking up the offensive numbers. Patrick Mahomes finished the season with 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns. The offensive line will have their hands full this week against the Bucs pass rush that has been called brilliantly by Todd Bowles, and now down a few names, there will be some question marks. Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill both played 15 games this season and posted double-digit touchdowns combined for 2,600 receiving yards. Sammy Watkins was injured most of the season, so we saw Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, and Byron Pringle pick up the slack. With Watkins returning this week, we will see snaps and targets for those names drop a bit. As a team, the Chiefs have run for 4.5 yards per game. Edwards-Helaire rushed for 803 yards on 181 attempts. Bell and Williams have been in the backseat when he has been healthy.

Defensively the Chiefs held teams to 22.5 points per game and 370 yards per game. They had a strong secondary that was excellent in forcing turnovers with 16 interceptions this season. They still struggled against the run, allowing 4.5 yards per carry and 122.1 yards per game. Both teams throw over 60% of the time but facing the Buccaneers, both Jones and Fournette can have a strong game if they don’t make it a focus to make them work. In the Week 12 matchup, we saw Ronald Jones rush for 7.3 yards per carry. The defense forced Tom Brady to throw two picks, which was crucial. Rob Gronkowski also had a big game against the Chiefs, who did give up some big numbers to tight ends this season. This is one of the mismatches for the defense this week.

Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
RB2: LeVeon Bell
WR1: Tyreek Hill
WR2: Sammy Watkins
WR3: Mecole Hardman
TE: Travis Kelce

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Analysis

Tampa Bay has posted strong defensive numbers this season and in a heavy offensive division. They allowed 22.2 points per game on the season and had a terrific run defense once again, and after a couple of strong draft classes, they have really turned this defense into a powerhouse. While the secondary can still be exploited given the young names, they are improved. Not many have slowed down Patrick Mahomes, and they couldn’t in the Week 12 meeting earlier this season. Mahomes had a field day with 462 yards and three touchdowns. The offensive line also allowed just two sacks, but Mahomes will likely see some more heat this week. This was also the game that Tyreek Hill posted a career day with a 13-269-3 line. Travis Kelce also had eight catches for 82 yards. The Tampa run defense has been stellar again. They allowed 80.6 yards per game this season, and opposing teams have averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. Tampa made it tough on the Chiefs run offense last time out, but it doesn’t matter a ton with the Chiefs throwing 60%+ of the time.

Tom Brady certainly shut up some doubters this season, and the Bill and Brady debaters will have a few weeks to chew on Brady’s season. He had 4,633 yards in the regular season and 40 touchdowns. Mike Evans was the only one over 1,000 yards, although Chris Godwin’s four games missed kept him from being over that mark. He still had 840 yards and seven touchdowns. Brady spread the ball out quite a bit as Scotty Miller and Antonio Brown also had their moments. The Buccaneers weren’t a run-heavy team, but they were efficient with Ronald Jones. He ran for 5.1 yards per carry and had some monster runs. He has been a bit banged up in the playoffs, and Leonard Fournette has stepped up with 70 yards per game so far, and he also has three total touchdowns.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart

QB: Tom Brady
RB1: Ronald Jones
RB2: Leonard Fournette
WR1: Mike Evans
WR2: Chris Godwin
WR3: Antonio Brown
TE: Rob Gronkowski

Betting Corner: Chiefs -3.5

Spread: KC -3.5
Moneyline: KC -170 / TB +150
Over/Under: 56.5

Rarely do we get so many prior matchups in the playoffs like this. Last week, both conference matchups occurred earlier in the season, and the same goes for the Super Bowl matchup. The line was essentially the same as the Chiefs were -3.5 favorites, and the total was set at 56. The under hit and the Chiefs failed to cover as they allowed 14 points in the fourth quarter and only scored seven second-half points after 20 in the first. It was kind of the case all year where they let up and didn’t cover the spread. They were just 7-10-1 ATS this season, and the Buccaneers were 11-8 ATS. The Chiefs also went 9-9 on the over/under this season, while the Buccaneers went 11-8. The total is awfully high this week, and I think it will teeter around the 52-54 range. This week’s prediction is the Chiefs winning 30-24 where the under hits and the Chiefs cover.

Daily Fantasy Picks

A single game slate on FanDuel and DraftKings has some more unique scoring features. The MVP or captain slot means they get more points at a multiplier. This helps lineups differ from each other. However, in building these lineups, you have to dig into some deep value to fit some of the big names in. In large-field tournaments, you have to make some decisions you wouldn’t normally make, whether using a secondary player in the MVP spot or pivoting with some deep value, leaving money on the table, etc. We have loads of playmakers in this one, especially at WR and TE. Both teams struggled against tight ends this season. The Chiefs allowed the 7th most fantasy points, and the Buccaneers allowed the 10th most. Gronkowski was a factor in that first meeting but has not been a major factor in the postseason. In fact, Cameron Brate has been the more productive tight end. I still like him quite a bit here despite the lack of targets. Kelce is obviously a stud, given he is the number one fantasy tight end, and it isn’t even close. He continues to be a lock and is a mismatch for this defense.

Tyreek Hill had that monster game in the prior meeting and certainly contributed to the Buccaneers allowing the 10th most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Hill has a monster playoff so far, and the issue is the speed. Nobody in the Tampa secondary or really any secondary can keep up with that pace. I expect him to have a big game, but I also don’t mind using cheaper options like Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman. For the Buccaneers, the Chiefs allowed the second-fewest fantasy points per game, but the bigger issue continues to be the targets, and production isn’t as narrowed down. Brady spreads the ball around, and that will be the case yet again. Evans and Godwin have picked up most of the targets, but we see many options like Gronkowski, Brate, Miller, and Brown as other options. The Tampa backs have an easier path to fantasy points based on the Chiefs run defense, but the playoffs’ split workload has hurt Jones. His injury might also be causing him to have less of an impact, but two weeks off is a plus. The Chiefs allowed the 8th most fantasy points tor running backs this season.