When Tom Brady hit tight end Rob Gronkowski with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski with 37 seconds left in the first quarter, it did a couple things besides giving the Bucs a 7-3 lead in Super Bowl LV
First, it game Tom Brady his first touchdown pass or touchdown of any kind in any of his Super Bowls, win or lose. An incredible but true stat!
Second, the hookup gave the Brady-Gronk combination the most touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver duo in NFL history with 13.
The Bucs had been running the ball and hitting short passes to deflect the effect of Kansas City’s pressure, and the run game was taking advantage of Kansas City’s tendency to run with lighter personnel — more dime defense this season than all but two other NFL teams. This is why I posited during the week that the Bucs would be wise to make their run game a relative strength, both in efficiency and volume.
How Tampa Bay’s run game could upend the Chiefs’ dime defense in Super Bowl LV
And that set up this. Watch how the Chiefs flow to the back on play-action, leaving the outside opening for the score.
BRADY TO GRONK IN THE #SUPERBOWL
📺: #SBLV on CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/HJtQf5igun pic.twitter.com/hjKIHWaYmE— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021
