Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hoping to make home advantage count when they take on the defending champions the Kansas City Chiefs at the Raymond James Stadium.
The Bucs, led by legendary quarterback Tom Brady, will become the first team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl at their home stadium, breaking a curse that has stood in the sport for over 54 years.
However, the Chiefs have their own star quarterback in Patrick Mahomes and are the 20/33 favourites, as they bid to become just the eighth franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls and the first since Brady lead the New England Patriots to successive Vince Lombardi trophies in 2004 and 2005.
That is just one of the records that will be in play during Sunday night’s action and we have delved a little deeper into the stats and facts that make up part of the Super Bowl’s illustrious history.
Brady Story Far From Finished
At 43 years of age, Brady is continuing to break records, as he will be making a record-extending 10th Super Bowl appearance on Sunday and his first with the Bucs, with his previous nine coming during his near 20-year stay with the Patriots. When he steps onto the field on Sunday, he will have participated in 18.2 per cent of all the Super Bowls ever to take place.
Given how many times he’s been to the dance, it is no surprise that Brady has also won the most Super Bowl rings, collecting six winners’ rings, while he has also been named MVP a record four times and he will break his own record for being the oldest quarterback to start and win the Super Bowl if he guides the Bucs home on Sunday.
Brady does tend to dominate the individual history books, although other players do feature, with Jerry Rice having recorded the most points (48) and touchdowns (8) in Super Bowl history, achieving that tally during three appearances with the San Franciso 49ers and one with the Oakland Raiders.
Rice is also the only player to have scored three touchdowns in two separate Super Bowls, while Ken Norton Jr is the only player to have won three consecutive championships, landing two with the Dallas Cowboys in 1993 and 94 before adding another the following year with the 49ers.
Pats Dominate Team Records
Sunday will see the Chiefs make their fourth Super Bowl appearance and the Bucs just their second, with both teams being a long way short of the overall record, which is held by the Patriots, who have made 11 appearances in the title-decider.
The Pats also share the record for most Super Bowl wins, as they and the Pittsburgh Steelers have won six apiece, while the Buffalo Bills are the only team to have appeared in the ‘Game of Games’ in four consecutive years.
That will be painful for the Bills to remember, as they lost all four of those games, but it is again the Pats that have been beaten the joint-most times in the Super Bowl, as they and the Denver Broncos have lost five times apiece.
Unwanted Record to Be Broken on Sunday
Super Bowl LV will set an unwanted record on Sunday, as the restrictions that are in place due to the coronavirus pandemic mean only 22,000 supporters will be in attendance, the lowest-ever crowd for the big game.
The previous low was set at the very first Super Bowl in 1967 when 61,946 supporters watched the Green Bay Packers beat the Chiefs.
The highest attendance recorded was at Super Bowl XIV when the Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams in front of 103,985 spectators.
In terms of the spectacle on show, the most points ever scored stands at 75 when the 49ers beat the San Diego Chargers 49-26 at Super Bowl XXIX.
That is a full 59 points more than the lowest total ever recorded, which came just two years ago when Brady led the Pats to a 13-3 victory over the Rams at Super Bowl LIII, a match that unsurprisingly also broke the record for fewest touchdowns scored (1).
*All odds correct at time of writing
