The Buccaneers apparently were just a quarterback and a few pieces away from a Super Bowl. In one year, a team that has toiled near the basement of the NFC South has charged past the rest of the conference and into the biggest game of the year. I expected them to be an improved team and likely a playoff team, but I didn’t see this coming.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, have been here before. They’ve gone 12-4 or better three straight years, getting bounced in the conference championship game in 2018, winning the Super Bowl in 2019, and returning to the Super Bowl again this year.