Super Bowl 55: Ranking the 10 best MVP candidates in Chiefs vs. Buccaneers
Who will win Super Bowl 55 MVP? It’s time to rank the 10 best candidates to be the biggest star from the Big Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Super Bowl LV truly does feel as if it could go either way as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs meet at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 7. Both teams are playing their best football of the year and both clubs clearly have a ton of talent.
Which team comes out with the Lombardi Trophy is going to be determined by what star players are able to step up in the biggest moment of the year and perform at the highest level. We saw Patrick Mahomes do that for the Chiefs last year and win Super Bowl MVP. So who is ready to follow in his footsteps — or could it be Mahomes’ honor to take yet again?
Let’s dive into the potential Super Bowl LV MVP candidates by ranking who we believe to be the top 10 in the game between the Chiefs and Buccaneers. Any odds listed are via DraftKings Sportsbook, courtesy of The Action Network.
Super Bowl 55 MVP candidate No. 10: Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
In the AFC Championship Game against the Bills, Mecole Hardman almost made himself the villain early on. A muffed punt that was recovered by Buffalo gave the opposition an easy touchdown and early lead. Thus, the Chiefs started behind the 8-ball and had to fight their way back.
On their way to accomplishing exactly that, though, they showed their resiliency as a team and their confidence in their playmakers as they gave Hardman touches right away, one of which he broke for a big play and the other he took into the end zone.
Hardman is one of the biggest home-run threats on the Chiefs roster, without question, and his role in the return game does offer him some upside in terms of MVP chances. It may not be the clearest path to winning the honor but there is an apparent path nonetheless.
Super Bowl 55 MVP candidate No. 9: Tyrann Mathieu, S, Kansas City Chiefs
While the Kansas City defense is oft-scrutinized, there are some undeniable playmakers littered throughout the unit. One of the most obvious is Tyrann Mathieu, who has been nothing short of spectacular since taking up residency at Arrowhead Stadium.
For as good as Tom Brady has been in his age-43 season, the Bucs quarterback has not been infallible. One of the reasons the Packers were able to climb back into the game is that the six-time champion had three interceptions. And there’s no one more primed to come up with those types of plays for KC than the Honey Badger.
With his ball-hawking ability in every phase of the game, it’s not hard to imagine Mathieu coming up with big plays. The only drawback would be that he would have to come up with a couple or more to capture MVP honors if the offense has any type of success.