When the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers last met in Super Bowl LV, Tom Brady seemingly had all day to throw. Patrick Mahomes, meanwhile, was under constant duress.
The Chiefs are hoping to turn the tables when they meet the Buccaneers (weather permitting) on Sunday in Tampa Bay, Fla.
“We want to make him as uncomfortable as possible,” Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill said Wednesday.
Against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Brady completed 21 of 29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. He also was sacked just once while Mahomes was sacked three times.
The Chiefs defense has undergone significant personnel changes since that 31-9 loss to Brady and the Buccaneers, and the team has been pleased with its performance on defense so far this season. Though the Chiefs (2-1) have only one interception — Jaylen Watson’s 99-yarder for a touchdown — they do have 10 sacks.
“I love seeing pressure,” Thornhill said. “The ball’s coming out quick, the quarterback’s getting a little antsy in the pocket, and they start throwing the ball up and that allows us to make more plays.”
That includes defensive backs pressuring the quarterback. Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is tied for first on the team with two sacks.
“The guy’s explosive,” Thornhill said of Sneed. “If you see him, he’s getting to the quarterback so fast. Before the quarterback can even get his feet set, he’s there. The guy is fast, he knows how to dip and lean, good bend. And that’s why he’s getting to the quarterback so fast.”
Thornhill also noted that under Steve Spagnuolo, defensive backs are constantly working on rushing the quarterback in practice.
“We have drills out there that we work on like dip and lean and maybe bull rushing sometimes because if you bullrush an offensive lineman they wouldn’t be expecting that,” Thornhill said. “So we definitely practice that.”
The Chiefs have not defeated the 45-year-old Brady since they beat the Buccaneers 27-24 in Week 12 of the 2020 season in Tampa Bay. But they are hoping to change that soon.
“Always facing Tom Brady, it’s going to be a competitive game,” Thornhill said. “He’s one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. You don’t get that title out of nowhere. I feel like their offense is really explosive, and they’ve got a good run game, a lot of good receivers surrounding Tom Brady. So it’s going to be a good game, for sure.”
BUTKER BACK AT PRACTICE
Kicker Harrison Butker returned to practice Wednesday after missing the previous two games with a sprained left ankle. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is hopeful Butker can play Sunday.
“We’ll play it by ear with that as we go,” Reid said.
Should Butker not be able to play, the Chiefs have signed Matthew Wright to the practice squad one day after releasing Matt Ammendola.
Wright played in three games for the Steelers in 2020 and 14 games last season for the Jaguars, making 21 of 24 field goals with a long of 56 yards.
