Chiefs’ penalties negate interception, result in Tom Brady TD pass to Rob Gronkowski
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The Chiefs had an interception, until they didn’t. They held the Buccaneers to a field goal, too, until they didn’t.
Two penalties in the second quarter of Super Bowl 55 cost Kansas City, with a turnover eventually turning into a touchdown. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski connected on a 17-yard score to add insult to injury after the Chiefs couldn’t stop hurting themselves.
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Let’s go back through the sequence that could prove crucial in the outcome of Super Bowl 55. The Buccaneers took over with strong field position after a Tommy Townsend shanked punt and already with a 7-3 lead. The drive started at the Chiefs’ 38-yard line.
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On third down, Brady attempted a pass to Leonard Fournette in the flat. The running back couldn’t hold on, and the ball bounced up in the air and into the arms of Kansas City’s Tyrann Mathieu. But Chiefs cornerback Charvarius Ward held Mike Evans away from play. The penalty negated the interception and gave Tampa Bay an automatic first down.
Kansas City’s defense stood firm after Brady got an extra chance, though, stopping the Buccaneers after three plays and forcing Ryan Succop to line up for a field goal try on fourth-and-5.
Succop made the kick, but another flag was thrown — the Chiefs were called for offside; Antonio Hamilton appeared to line up in the neutral zone. The only replay angle shown on the CBS broadcast made it look as if Mecole Hardman also could’ve been offside on the other end of the line.
Third time was the charm for Brady. He uncorked a pass down the middle to Gronkowski, who reeled it in for six.
The former Patriots teammates had already connected for a short touchdown in the first quarter, Brady’s first touchdown pass in a first quarter in his Super Bowl career. That drive was a 75-yarder in which the only Chiefs penalty was a defensive holding call.
But the second Buccaneers touchdown Sunday night will definitely be one Kansas City regrets if the Chiefs can’t mount a Super Bowl comeback for the second consecutive year.