When Patrick Mahomes faced the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, his biggest challenge wasn’t Tom Brady but Tampa Bay’s defensive line especially Ndamukong Suh, the 6 ft 4 in defensive tackle.
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The Bucs handed over a massive 31-9 defeat to the Chiefs, with the Tampa Bay defense shining through. Remember that brutal 13-yard loss sack of Mahomes as the last 5 minutes of the game remained? That summed up how exceptionally the Buccaneers’ defense pinned the Mahomes-led offense.
Suh led the team’s attack on the QB. They sacked him 3 times and intercepted the QB twice. The tailor-made defense show was enough to stop the Chiefs from scoring big and helped Tom Brady lead the team to a Super Bowl title. In the documentary, “NFL’s Most Feared Player: The Untold Story Of Ndamukong Suh,” the former Bucs DT threw light on this thrilling Super Bowl showdown.
Suh discussed his role in the Super Bowl Game. When asked about Mahomes’ reaction after getting tackled, he revealed that the young QB ‘just took it and moved on‘ and compared his resistance to former Colts QB Andrew Luck.
“Him and Andrew Luck are very similar from that aspect of they’re like that was a good hit but I’m up and ready to go.”
“No, he wasn’t a talker at least towards me, maybe the other guys he wasn’t talking to me like that,” he added.
The NFL player added that despite Mahomes’ star status he didn’t have any fear before playing against him but they knew that the only way to stop the Chiefs was to attack the quarterback. They planned to keep the Chiefs’ offense out of the field and give Tom Brady time to do what he did best, scoring points.
This strategy yielded the results in the Bucs’ favor as the team celebrated the Super Bowl victory. While it was Brady’s seventh SB win, the defense was to be credited for scheming the triumph. As Suh pointed out it was the biggest highlight of his career and it was a ‘huge weight off the shoulders.’ Thus, making the W even more noteworthy for the professional.
Suh describes why the Super Bowl victory holds a special status
The former Tampa Bay player revealed that the Super Bowl win was a payout of his years of hard work and ‘the one thing to get to Canton'(the NFL Hall of Fame is located in Canton). Suh played 200+ games in the league and scored 600 tackles to earn a place in 2010’s All-decade team. Adding a Super Bowl win to his elusive career record made him a strong contender for the NFL Hall of Fame.
Suh was one of the most feared defense players during his career and one of the few who managed to outsmart Patrick Mahomes in a Super Bowl game. However, the Chiefs QB returned the favor in 2023 when the Chiefs beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII. Ndamukong Suh spent 13 seasons in the league and played three Super Bowls with the Rams, Buccaneers, and the Eagles.
