Super Bowl LV is this Sunday, and the Voyager has you covered. News Editor Joe Sullivan, Assistant Sports Editor Andrew Hale, Sports Editor Jotham Israel and Co-opinion Editor Isaiah Adeleke teamed up to predict who will win the big game.

Joe Sullivan’s Pick:

The time has finally come for the GOAT to face off against the baby GOAT.

I wasn’t  rooting for anyone in the AFC and NFC Championship, but I was secretly rooting for these two quarterbacks to battle it out in the Super Bowl. Who would’ve thought that after the disappointing season Tom Brady and the Patriots had last year, number 12 would be right back where he left off in 2019 at 43 years old?

I was once part of the Brady hate train, but there is no denying his legacy and accomplishments over the past 20 years that make him the greatest quarterback to ever play.

As for Patrick Mahomes, we’re looking at the greatest start to a quarterback’s career in NFL history. Without an offsides penalty against the Patriots in 2019, Mahomes might have been looking for his third consecutive super bowl at just 25. The Chiefs’ offense is scary good, with weapons like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, there are threats all across the field.

This game is going to come down to how many stops the Buccaneers can get down the stretch. I don’t see Tom Brady and the Bucs’ offense being able to hang with the Chiefs in a shootout. I love the Bucs defense and I think they can give Mahomes some trouble with guys like Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaquil Barrett. Their front seven has to get to Mahomes in the pocket if they want to slow down the passing game. Tampa Bay cannot give up points early like they did back in week 12.

A key player to watch out for is Leonard Fournette. Playoff Lenny is bound to have a breakout game on the big stage. Tampa Bay’s offense is not nearly as dominant at Kansas City’s, so watch for them to use the clock to their advantage. Now is the time for this Buccaneer’s offense to start getting hot and this has the chance to be Brady’s best Super Bowl win yet, but I like Hill on the outside against the Bucs’ inconsistent secondary and I think he’ll have a field day.

With that being said I’m going with the Kansas City Chiefs in another tight one. – Chiefs 35, Buccaneers 31.

Andrew Hale’s Pick:

If fans around the NFL have learned one thing while watching Patrick Mahomes, it’s not to bet against this young superstar quarterback.

Since we all know that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history accolade-wise, it is important to mention that Patrick Mahomes is on pace to potentially become the next GOAT.

In four seasons, Mahomes has already won an MVP and has carried his team to three straight playoff appearances and two Super Bowl appearances. Among quarterbacks with at least 150 pass attempts, Mahomes has the highest postseason passer rating (106.6) in NFL history.

In this very fascinating matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Kansas City Chiefs have to continue to do what they do best; utilize their offensive threats and expose arguably the best defense in the playoffs up until this point. With weapons like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill on the outside, the Bucs have no choice but to double team one of them, which then obviously leaves one open.

This same strategy is what has made the Chiefs so dangerous with Mahomes under center. Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will have to make sure his defense doesn’t give up big plays to this Chiefs offense. Throughout these playoffs, this Buccaneers defense has been fierce and has single handedly shut down two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

Throughout his career, Tom Brady has rarely been around an offense that is not elite, and this Bucs squad is no different. When you have players like Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans, you are bound to have success, but even with these players, their productivity hasn’t seemed as dominant as you would expect. If Tampa Bay wants to be the champion like the Lightning, they’ll truly have to get their offense going.

The most under-appreciated part of the 2020-21 season for the Chiefs has been their defense and rightfully so due to their star studded offense. In the last two months of football, the Chiefs starting defense (excluding their week 17 game against the Chargers) has only allowed 21 points per game. If Patrick Mahomes was able to throw 29-38 for 325 yards and 3 TD’s during a week in which he was mostly in concussion protocol and in a game where he was playing through turf toe against a great Bills defense, imagine what he’ll do to the Bucs!

As the saying goes, “Never bet against Patrick Mahomes.” – Chiefs 37, Buccaneers 26

Jotham Israel’s Pick:

Run it back, baby!

This is arguably the most intriguing quarterback matchup in Super Bowl history with Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady leading their squads into battle, but I think this game will be defined by the defenses. Both of these defenses are very good and opportunistic, and it will be about who can keep the opponent’s receivers in check more often.

A lot of people don’t think Tampa Bay can do it, but I believe they can.

The last time these two teams played, Tyreek Hill had the greatest first quarter of wide receiving I have ever seen, the Chiefs dominated the game and the Buccaneers offense was still stagnant at the time. Even with all of that going on, the Chiefs only won the game by three points and were in major jeopardy of blowing that lead. The Bucs haven’t lost a game since, and now that they have a chance to play the Chiefs again, I believe they’ll somehow find a way to stop Mahomes for 60 minutes and not just 50 of them.

The Bucs have gone through Washington’s top-five defense, a very balanced Saints team who beat them twice and effectively locked down the Packers’ high-scoring offense that led the league in points per game (31.8), and some of these wins came without key players like Antonio Brown, Antoine Winfield and leading-tackler Devin White.

With Tampa Bay potentially having all of their key pieces back in action and with a chance for Tom Brady to complete arguably his greatest Super Bowl run ever, I have to roll with the Buccaneers here. – Buccaneers 30, Chiefs 23

Isaiah Adeleke’s Pick:

Super Bowl LV will be a very interesting one.

It features a matchup of two great quarterbacks, however one is old enough to be the other one’s father. Tom Brady, 43, will be facing 25 year-old Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs and Buccaneers played earlier this season and wideout Tyreek Hill had his best game of the season catching three touchdowns and pulling out a win for the Chiefs.

The Superbowl is usually played at a neutral site, however the Buccaneers will be playing on their home-field there.

Both these teams have amazing offenses, great wide receivers, great tight ends and obviously amazing quarterbacks. The Chiefs with the third ranked offense in the league and Tampa Bay not very hard behind with the fifth ranked offense. This game will be a shootout and it will come down to whose defense will get more stops. The Bucs have played very good offenses up until this point such as the high-scoring Packers and very balanced Saints team. However, they have never had to play a team that had a top five receiver and top two tight end on the same team. Additionally, they will be forced to double them which will expose more holes in their defense, and Patrick Mahomes will find the open guys.

I believe that Tampa Bay will be too focused on Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce and Mahomes will recognize this and get other guys involved and win the game. – Chiefs 35, Buccaneers 28.