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BY IRA KAUFMAN

The strangest season in the NFL’s 100-year history is destined to end in surreal style.

It has to end with Tom Brady cradling the Vince Lombardi Trophy, surrounded by all the teammates and coaches he has inspired. It has to end with this NFL backwater called Tampa Bay preparing a parade route after a Super Bowl week like no other.

Before the 2020 season began, nobody would have been surprised to see the Chiefs run it back. Franchises like the Patriots, Cowboys,

Steelers, Dolphins and Packers know what it’s like to win consecutive Super Bowls.

But only the Buc die-hards truly believed Tampa Bay would be standing here, representing the NFC in the league’s showcase event. The skeptics had a field day when the Bucs fell to 7-5 before the bye week, triggering speculation Brady couldn’t throw deep anymore and questioning the relationship between Brady and the coaching staff.

Oh ye of little faith. You know who you are and it’s too late to jump back on the bandwagon.

Destiny aside, the Bucs will be showered with confetti Sunday evening for one simple reason: they have the better team. Across the board, with few exceptions, Tampa Bay has superior talent.

The problem? Those few exceptions may be enough for the defending champs.

In Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill, the three best players on the field will be in Kansas City uniforms.

“The difference will be the Chiefs’ superstars showing up in one or two critical moments,” says ESPN analyst Terrell Davis. “Sometimes, that’s all it takes.”

Tell John Lynch

Kelce and Hill are first-team All-Pros while Mahomes is a generational talent with incredible flair. The throw he made to Hill to turn last year’s Super Bowl around will live forever in NFL lore as Lynch grimaced on the sidelines.

Great play design, great route and great pass, all against a superb 49ers defense that couldn’t protect a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Mahomes can do that to you in the blink of an eye, but he needs help. He needed almost four seconds to heave that dramatic pass to Hill and Mahomes just got it off before DeForest Buckner leveled him off a stunt. The Bucs won’t give Mahomes that kind of time on Sunday.

Even with their two starting tackles, the offensive line of the Chiefs is a mediocre unit. Rarely does Mahomes enjoy a clean pocket – and now Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz are both sidelined.

“One of the things I don’t think people are talking enough about is the state of the Chiefs’ offensive line,” Jon Gruden said on The Cris Collinsworth podcast. “The Buccaneers can rush. They can rush you, man. It’s going to be hard to drop back and hold the ball and wait for some of those deep patterns. I’m a little bit concerned about that matchup if I’m Kansas City.”

The Bucs have a better running game and a far better offensive line.

Give the Chiefs a slight edge in the secondary, but the linebacker position is no contest. And in case you haven’t noticed, Kansas City’s special teams have been anything but special in the past two postseasons.

The Chiefs boast some exceptional players, but in the immortal words of Dennis Green, I’m not ready to crown their ass. Mahomes, Hill and Kelce cover up some significant flaws.

The Pick Is In

With Mahomes and Brady on the field, throw out all the usual late-game strategies. Clock management will be critical, especially in the final moments, because neither team will trust its defense to hold a lead against these two stalwarts.

Punting the football will be considered a last resort.

By 10 p.m. on Sunday, Tampa Bay’s grand experiment will be considered one of the great gambles in NFL history. The Bucs have been the league’s biggest story since Brady arrived and this yarn will end in grand style.

Bucs 31, Chiefs 27.

End of story.

It’s Ira! Stop in and ask for Ira’s good friend Sean Sullivan, the Bill Currie Ford general manager, for a JoeBucsFan discount. He will help you personally in person or by phone and email.