Everyone in Kansas City remembers Super Bowl LV very well — for all the wrong reasons.
The championship game was very different from last season, when the Kansas City Chiefs returned to beat the San Francisco 49ers and win their first Super Bowl title in 50 years with a 31-20 win. The second time out — against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at their home stadium — the Chiefs were without several starters on their offensive line, including tackles Eric Fisher and Mitch Schwartz. Both were lost for the season.
The Buccanneers ran Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes all night — and Tampa’s relentless pressure resulted in a 31-9 win that never saw the Chiefs reach the end zone. During the offseason, team general manager Brett Veach rebuilt the offensive line to a strength, signing for Orlando Brown Jr., signing Joe Thuney and drafting two colts: Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith.
In Week 4 of Sunday Night Football, the Chiefs will get their first attack on the Buccaneers since that devastating loss in Tampa. While no team is ever the same — especially years after a postseason game — there will be some familiar faces on the opposite touchline. Including linebacker Shaquille Barrett.
But when asked about that “remodeled” offensive line — and how it compares to that fateful night in 2021 — Barrett couldn’t help but giggle for the camera (11:27 minutes).
“I really don’t think it’s too much of a difference,” Barrett said. “I think we have a lot of cheap matchups. I think we really have an opportunity to really dominate the game…I just think yeah we have an opportunity to really impose our will as pass rushers, edge rushers in this game. We can really party like a coming out party. I know we had six sacks in the other game, but we can really have a coming-out party as border defenders in the positional group for this game.
Asked about Barrett’s comments on Wednesday’s podium, Mahomes kept it simple.
“I trust the five guys we have out there,” he said. “I feel like we have one of the best offensive lines in the league – and we’re going to go in there with that attitude.”
Brown — one of those brought in to make Mahomes’ life better — wouldn’t take Barrett’s bait either.
“I think we’re a very motivated group,” Brown said. “We understand we didn’t live up to our standards last week – and we have our own expectations of ourselves, man. When people make comments like this, so be it. But I think the most important thing is that we know what we want to do – and the standard that we set ourselves as a unit (and individuals) to go out there and compete.”
Brown admitted there were a few games he wished he could have back during last Sunday’s 20-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown allowed two pressure attempts (including a quarterback hit) in the game. He was also guilty of a false start in the third quarter.
Brown explained the Chiefs are doing the right things to fix their mistakes this week and realize they know what Mahomes can do when he’s protected.
“[Mahomes is] someone who can make shots from all sorts of places on the field,” Brown noted. “If we protect him and keep him clean, he can go crazy over these things from time to time. If we don’t, he can adapt to these things. pats [done] a great job just being tough.
“Last week there were a couple of situations where I put him in bad positions – maybe not being able to get in a throw or a penalty with Yannick (Ngakoue). So I think it’s more about making sure we’re doing a great job – staying inside the pocket, keeping depth on the pocket – so he can throw and throw wherever he wants.”