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    A Painful Lesson for the Chiefs: It’s Hard to Repeat as Champions

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021N.F.L.’s Most Challenging YearGame HighlightsThe CommercialsHalftime ShowWhat We LearnedAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyA Painful Lesson for the Chiefs: It’s Hard to Repeat as ChampionsParity in the N.F.L. makes it difficult to build dynasties. Even the seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady has won back-to-back titles just once.Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was flat in the Super Bowl.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesKevin Draper and Feb. 7, 2021If the Kansas City Chiefs needed a reminder of how difficult it is to repeat as Super Bowl champions, they needed only glance across the field at Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.Brady won a record seventh Super Bowl on Sunday night as the Buccaneers dominated Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on their way to a 31-9 victory in Tampa, Fla.He has appeared in 10 of the last 20 Super Bowls. But he has won two in a row just once, in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Like the New England Patriots in the 2017 season and the Seattle Seahawks in the 2014 season, the 2020 Chiefs failed in their bid to win a second straight title.“I think what makes it such a challenge is it is hard to win one Super Bowl,” Brady told reporters last week. “You cannot go buy a football team. You have to develop players.”The Buccaneers, coached by Bruce Arians, had a lot of young talent, but their roster was largely constructed in the off-season when they signed Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Leonard Fournette and others.The Chiefs, though, seemed destined to repeat. They finished the regular season with an N.F.L.-best 14-2 record and were favorites heading into the Super Bowl. Their offense looked unstoppable with quarterback Mahomes, last year’s Super Bowl most valuable player, playing well.But before the game, Mahomes acknowledged that parity in the N.F.L. made it difficult for teams to repeat as champions.“I mean, literally, you could be the worst team in the league one year and work all the way up to the Super Bowl the next,” he said.The salary cap, which limits how much money teams can spend on player contracts, is a big reason for that parity. That wasn’t the case decades ago. The Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls in the 1960s, and the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled repeat wins in the 1970s. (The Steelers did it twice.)Quarterback Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers to consecutive titles in the 1980s, and the Dallas Cowboys were repeat champions in the early 1990s. But since the N.F.L. introduced a salary cap in 1994, only the Patriots and John Elway’s Denver Broncos have repeated.Chiefs fans faced the inevitable Sunday night. Salary cap considerations will make it hard for Kansas City to keep the team together.Credit…Chase Castor for The New York TimesAs is often the case in the N.F.L., injuries can derail teams in an instant. The Chiefs struggled on Sunday, in part, because they were missing their two starting offensive tackles, including Eric Fisher, one of the best tackles in the game, who missed the Super Bowl after tearing an Achilles’ tendon two weeks ago.Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, an offensive guard who has a medical degree, opted out of the 2020 season to work in his native Canada to help combat the coronavirus. Tackle Mitchell Schwartz played only the first six weeks of the season before injuring his back.The Chiefs also faced a last-minute coaching change. Their outside linebackers coach, Britt Reid — the son of the head coach, Andy Reid — missed Sunday’s game after being involved in a car crash in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday night.The Buccaneers took advantage. They sacked Mahomes three times and pressured him on 29 of his 56 drop backs, according to ESPN Stats & Info, the most in Super Bowl history. Mahomes spent most of the game scrambling from defenders behind the line of scrimmage. He threw two interceptions, no touchdowns, and needed 49 passes to accumulate just 270 yards, most of them late in the game.Retaining a roster that has made it to three consecutive A.F.C. championship games will be difficult. The Chiefs are almost $18 million over next year’s salary cap, according to Over the Cap, an independent site that tracks N.F.L. contracts and salaries. A number of key players are free agents, among them receivers Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson, center Austin Reiter and defensive backs Daniel Sorensen and Bashaud Breeland.The Chiefs will face another hurdle: The salary cap, which is based on the league’s total revenue, was about $198 million this season. It could fall to as low as $175 million next season because the league lost billions of dollars in ticket sales during the pandemic.For their part, the Buccaneers will have an estimated $28.9 million in cap space, which will give them room to re-sign players and attract free agents.The Chiefs will, however, retain Mahomes, a transcendent quarterback who signed a 10-year contract last summer worth up to $500 million. At only 25, he has many years ahead — barring injury — to match Brady, Elway, Montana, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese and Bart Starr as quarterbacks who have won back-to-back Super Bowls.After the game, a downtrodden Mahomes acknowledged the difficulty of winning in the N.F.L. “When we joined together we knew it wasn’t going to always be successful and we weren’t going to be able to win a thousand championships in a row,” he said. “We knew we would go through times like this, through adversity.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    The Weeknd’s halftime spectacle features a hall of mirrors and bandaged dancers.

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyHow Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Beat the Chiefs to Win the Super BowlThe Weeknd’s halftime spectacle features a hall of mirrors and bandaged dancers.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:57 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:57 p.m. ETCaryn Ganz and The Weeknd began his halftime show in the stands, before taking the field with rows of dancers whose faces were hidden by bandages. Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesWhen the Weeknd put out his first mixtape “House of Balloons” in 2011, his identity was largely shrouded in mystery. On Sunday, he took one of the biggest stages in pop, the halftime show at the Super Bowl.The Weeknd, the 30-year-old Toronto singer and songwriter Abel Tesfaye, began his set in the stands, emerging in front of rows of lights to perform “Starboy” and “The Hills” with a choir, then he relocated into a hallway of lights and mirrors for “Can’t Feel My Face” as dancers with bandaged faces swarmed him. With fireworks lighting up the sky, he returned to the open air for “I Feel It Coming,” a large moon rising over the cityscape projected behind him. While a musician in a glittery mask strummed a guitar, the Weeknd turned toward the more optimistic “Save Your Tears” and “Earned It,” accompanied by strings and ending on a long, triumphant note. An army of performers outfitted like the Weeknd dance-marched down the field and the singer energetically sprinted beside them to herald his grand finale: his recent hit “Blinding Lights,” an ecstatic, driving disco-pop song.The Weeknd has released four albums since 2013, including his breakthrough, “Beauty Behind the Madness” in 2015. While promoting his latest LP, “After Hours,” he has dressed in a black shirt and red jacket and sported an increasingly banged-up and bandaged face while spinning a narrative in appearances at the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, as well as late-night shows and in music videos. (He has said the character he’s portraying “is having a really bad night,” and in music videos the plot involves possibly being overtaken by an evil spirit and committing murder.)After starting in the stands, the Weeknd came down to the field.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesThe pandemic complicated would could be done in the performance, but there were sill pyrotechnics.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesThe Weeknd’s halftime show faced a unique set of challenges because of the pandemic. About 1,050 people worked on the show, a much smaller group than most years, and preparations included frequent virus testing and social distancing in production trailers. This is the second Super Bowl halftime show produced in part by Jay-Z and Roc Nation: Last year, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed sets heavy on dancing and Latin pride for fans jammed elbow to elbow on the field — a scenario that was impossible in 2021.In a performance clearly designed for at-home consumption, the Weeknd focused intently on the cameras. Behind him was a band and choir interspersed among a neon cityscape, and often he was surrounded by dancers — their faces bandaged, in keeping with the fame-skeptic iconography of his recent music videos — but often, the Weeknd stood alone. His eye contact was intense. When he danced, he mostly did so in isolation. In the midst of a pyrotechnic affair, there he was, keeping his own time.There could maybe be no more fitting year for the Weeknd to be headlining the halftime show: After almost a year of avoiding other people, who better to set the terms of public engagement than pop music’s greatest hermit?AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    The fourth quarter begins: 15 minutes to Brady’s seventh title or an all-time comeback.

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyHow Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Beat the Chiefs to Win the Super BowlThe fourth quarter begins: 15 minutes to Brady’s seventh title or an all-time comeback.Feb. 7, 2021, 9:29 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 9:29 p.m. ETTom Brady entered the fourth quarter in complete control of the game.Credit…Doug Mills/The New York TimesThe Chiefs come out throwing in the fourth quarter and creep closer to the end zone. But after driving to the 11-yard line, a third-down play tells the story of their frustrating night: Mahomes winds up circling until he is chased back to the 30, and he ends up heaving a ball toward the end zone where it falls incomplete. They will go for it on fourth down. They don’t have much of a choice.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    What It’s Like in Raymond James Stadium

    What It’s Like in Raymond James StadiumBenjamin Hoffman/The New York TimesMy first Super Bowl was at Raymond James Stadium in 2009 and I’ve attended 11 of the 12 Super Bowls since. This year’s is obviously quite a bit different.Here’s a look at the scene inside the stadium → More

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    Touchdown! Tampa Bay comes right back with Fournette’s 27-yard touchdown run.

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storyHow Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Beat the Chiefs to Win the Super BowlTouchdown! Tampa Bay comes right back with Fournette’s 27-yard touchdown run.Feb. 7, 2021, 9:01 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 9:01 p.m. ETCredit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesWell that was fast. The Bucs answer the field goal by going 74 yards in six plays — one of them a devastatingly easy Brady-to-Gronkowski completion right down the middle — and Leonard Fournette finishes it off with a 27-yard touchdown jaunt around right end.Touchdown.Just. Like. That.PLAYOFF. LENNY. 🔥 @_fournette @Buccaneers 📺 #SBLV on CBS(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/1ZQRGdJYTF— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) February 8, 2021
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    The Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime Show

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Super Bowl 2021liveGame UpdatesThe CommercialsHalftime ShowTom Brady Endures at 43Fans Still Traveled for the GameAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThe Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime ShowThe singer’s spectacle featured a hall of mirrors and bandaged dancers as he performed before a cityscape carved into the stadium’s stands.The Weeknd performed a career-spanning set at the Super Bowl halftime show, but was mostly confined to the stands.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesFeb. 7, 2021, 8:57 p.m. ETWhen the Weeknd put out his first mixtape “House of Balloons” in 2011, his identity was largely shrouded in mystery. On Sunday, he took one of the biggest stages in pop, the halftime of Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.The Weeknd (a.k.a. the 30-year-old Toronto singer and songwriter Abel Tesfaye) began his set in the stands, emerging in front of rows of lights to perform “Starboy” and “The Hills” with a choir, then he relocated into a hallway of lights and mirrors for “Can’t Feel My Face” as dancers with bandaged faces swarmed him. With fireworks lighting up the sky, he returned to the open air for “I Feel It Coming,” a large moon rising over the cityscape projected behind him.While a musician in a glittery mask strummed a guitar, the Weeknd turned toward the more optimistic “Save Your Tears” and “Earned It,” accompanied by strings and ending on a long, triumphant note. An army of performers outfitted like the Weeknd dance-marched down the field and the singer energetically sprinted beside them to herald his grand finale: his recent hit “Blinding Lights,” an ecstatic, driving disco-pop song.The Weeknd took the field only for the finale, “Blinding Lights.”Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesThe Weeknd has released four albums since 2013, including his breakthrough, “Beauty Behind the Madness” in 2015. While promoting his latest LP, “After Hours,” he has dressed in a black shirt and red jacket and sported an increasingly banged-up and bandaged face while spinning a narrative in appearances at the MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, as well as late-night shows and in music videos. (He has said the character he’s portraying “is having a really bad night,” and in music videos the plot involves possibly being overtaken by an evil spirit and committing murder.)“After Hours,” which was released in March after the pandemic lockdown paused live touring, opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the equivalent of 440,000 sales in the United States. After the demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd, the Weeknd donated $500,000 to nonprofit organizations focused on racial equality and used his acceptance speeches at the V.M.A.s to say “justice for Jacob Blake and justice for Breonna Taylor.” But in what is seen a major snub, the Weeknd received no nominations for the Grammy Awards, which were to take place on Jan. 31, a week before the Super Bowl; the awards were later moved back to March 14 as Covid-19 raged in Los Angeles, where the ceremony will be held.When the nominations were announced in November, the Weeknd spoke out on social media, writing, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency …” Harvey Mason Jr., the chairman and interim chief executive of the Recording Academy, denied that the Weeknd’s lack of nominations was retaliation for performing at the Super Bowl, as some suggested in theories online.The Weeknd’s halftime show faced a unique set of challenges because of the pandemic. About 1,050 people worked on the show, a much smaller group than most years, and preparations included frequent Covid-19 testing and social distancing in production trailers. This is the second Super Bowl halftime show produced in part by Jay-Z and Roc Nation: Last year, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed sets heavy on dancing and Latin pride for fans jammed elbow to elbow on the field — a scenario that was impossible in 2021.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Three quick points to start the second half: The Chiefs kick a field goal and it’s 21-9.

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipThree quick points to start the second half: The Chiefs kick a field goal and it’s 21-9.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:54 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:54 p.m. ETJust as fast as the offense raced upfield, the Chiefs’ drive stalls out. Butker, though, is there again: He kicks a 52-yard field goal, his third of the game. Is 3 points enough to get the Chiefs’ swagger back? It may depend on whether their defense can get a stop or two here. AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    The Chiefs settle for a field goal with a minute to go before halftime.

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySuper Bowl Live Updates: Bucs Closing in on ChampionshipThe Chiefs settle for a field goal with a minute to go before halftime.Feb. 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ETFeb. 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ETTwo field goals by Harrison Butker, of 49 and 34 yards, account for all of Kansas City’s scoring.Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York TimesThose three plays out of the two-minute warning will disappoint Mahomes, Andy Reid and Chiefs fans everywhere. But they salvage something with a 34-yard field goal by Butker, his second of the game.Of course, they’ve also left Brady a minute to do more damage.Shaquil Barrett’s pressure forces the Chiefs to have to settle for three points.#58 Barrett burst off the line of scrimmage in 0.61 seconds on his way to Mahomes (i.e. pass rush get-off time).#SBLV | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/VI201Z8BTB— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) February 8, 2021
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