Would the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rather face Chiefs or Bills in Super Bowl 55?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers punched their ticket to Super Bowl 55 with a win over the Packers but would they rather face the Chiefs or Bills for a ring?

If there were any Tom Brady doubters left out there, they’re likely eating crow at this point. Playing in his 14th conference championship on Sunday and his first NFC Championship Game in his inaugural year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he went into Lambeau Field and earned a dramatic 31-26 victory over the Packers. Next stop: Super Bowl LV.

Brady and the Buccaneers made history with their win as they’ll become the first team in NFL history to host the Super Bowl as the Big Game will be played at Raymond James Stadium. The only thing left to be decided is who the Bucs will play as the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills battle for the AFC’s spot in the contest.

With how they’ve consistently passed every test, Brady and the Buccaneers are undoubtedly ready for whatever matchup they get. But if they had their pick, let’s take a look at which team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would rather face in Super Bowl LV.

Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would want to face the Chiefs

Considering that Kansas City is the reigning Super Bowl champions, it’s not hard to see why the Buccaneers wouldn’t want this matchup. And that’s only furthered by the fact that the pressure that the Tampa Bay defense likes to generate via the blitz and the coverage they like to run is a bad matchup against the Chiefs.

Having said that, the Bucs do have more familiarity with the Chiefs, having seen them in the regular season already. They know what they did in that first matchup didn’t work as it resulted in a 27-24 loss. Yet, they were that close in that game, so they know they aren’t far off. Moreover, they’ve played better since that game by a wide margin.

Moreover, the Chiefs defense is the better matchup for Tampa Bay than the Bills defense. In the simplest terms, if the Buccaneers loaded corps of pass-catchers is at 100 percent health, Kansas City doesn’t have the defensive back depth or linebackers to match up with them. Thus, there is an avenue for clear success in that.

Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would want to face the Bills

As mentioned, the Bills defense is a tougher matchup for the Buccaneers than the Chiefs would be. While Buffalo has somewhat underperformed on that side of the ball at times, they’ve hit their stride down the stretch. Their ability to create pressure while also having playmakers in the secondary could cause Brady some similar problems to what he experienced in the second half against Green Bay.

Having said that, while Josh Allen has been one of the hands-down best players in the NFL this season, he’s not been on a stage such as this before. Playing Tampa Bay in Raymond James Stadium with a Lombardi Trophy on the line — especially at the helm of a Bills franchise with such a torrid history in the Big Game — is a lot of pressure for the 24-year-old.

Tampa Bay could potentially cause some problems for Allen and Buffalo, especially if they can find ways to contain Stefon Diggs. With their ability to stop the run and the Bills aversion to that side of the offense, the Buccaneers could be in line to make a good effort against the explosive offense.

Who would the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rather face in Super Bowl 55?

Neither the Bills or Chiefs would be a pushover and, frankly, either team coming out of the AFC might be a slight favorite in Super Bowl LV against Tampa Bay. However, if the Buccaneers had their choice, my bet would be that they would rather see the Bills on the opposite sideline.

At the end of the day, the Bills aren’t familiar with the position of playing in a Super Bowl while the Chiefs are. And when you put that opposite of Tom Brady, that’s advantage Buccaneers in a very big way. In either case, though, fans will be in for a treat come Feb. 7.