For the second time in his career, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was absolutely rocked on football's biggest stage. His latest humbling, a 40-22 blowout by the Philadelphia Eagles, comes almost five years to the day after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers welcomed him to the prime years of his career by beating the living daylights of out him and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55.
It remains one of the most glorious days in franchise history, as the Bucs not only beat Kansas City but were the first team to truly embarrass them in any fashion. The Chiefs were teflon back in 2020, riding high after winning the Super Bowl a year before while operating with one of the most unfairly talented offenses we've ever seen.
Mahomes was establishing himself as an unbeatable cheat code, which is why the fact that the Bucs beat the Chiefs so badly in the Super Bowl remains one of the most stunning things we've ever seen. Philadelphia has joined the party, but Tampa Bay is still the only team to hold Kansas City's dynastic offense out of the endzone in a playoff game.
It's something Buccaneers fans still think about, and after the loss in Super Bowl 59 Mahomes confirmed he also can't forget what happened that night.
Patrick Mahomes still sounds haunted by the Buccaneers after losing Super Bowl 59
While speaking during his postgame press conference, Mahomes brought up the loss to Tampa Bay when reflecting on the ass-whopping that had been delievered to the Chiefs by Philly's defense.
Mahomes said tonight's loss stands with the one in Super Bowl 55 against Tampa. "They both sucked. These will be the two losses that motivate me the rest of my career."
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) February 10, 2025
The the undead pirates in Pirates of the Caribbean, the Buccaneers will forever haunt the hallowed halls of Kansas City's trophy room.
Tampa Bay isn't the only team to have ever beaten the Chiefs, and the Bucs weren't even the only team that season to have blown Kansas City out. No other team will be able to say they did it first, though, as the public humiliation Mahomes and the Chiefs endured at the hands of Todd Bowles' brooding defense will never be able to be burned from anyone's memory. No amount of future losses -- in the Super Bowl or not -- can erase what happened.
Philly might have put forth a thundering defensive performance and earned membership into an exclusive club, but it's still hard to top what the Bucs did to Kansas City back in Super Bowl LV. Tampa Bay held the Chiefs out of the endzone, and their 31-9 win remains the most significant margin of victory over Kansas City in a playoff game during the Mahomes era.
So don't think of the Eagles' win as somehow diminishing Tampa Bay's victory a few years ago—that's untrue. Patrick Mahomes certainly doesn't see it that way, and being reminded that the Bucs are still at the center of his worst nightmare feels like winning the Super Bowl all over again.
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