Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
As always, the halftime view looked different depending on your seat:
Kevin Draper, watching on TV: The Weeknd promised a different take on the halftime performance, and he delivered. With enforced social distancing and complicated logistics, he performed from the stands, not in the headliner’s normal spot on the field, on a stage that was not surrounded by hundreds of dancing fans the way it usually is.
He opened with “Starboy” on a stage in front of a neon mock city skyline set, accompanied by dozens in a choir, before the set parted and he entered a brightly lit gold hallway surrounded by masked look-alikes. He performed the entirety of “Starboy” before making his way onto the field to sing his mega-hit “Blinding Lights,” accompanied once again by the hundreds of masked look-alikes — all of them wearing sparkly red jackets and black pants and carefully socially distanced for much of the song — as a barrage of fireworks went off.
Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Ben Hoffman, inside Raymond James Stadium: The most striking thing about the performance inside the stadium was how few moving pieces there were. A typical halftime show involves the entire field’s being taken over by stages and fans. The Weeknd simply walked out onto a prebuilt stage in the end zone (only feet away from the stadium’s iconic pirate ship) and began singing. With the performance so confined — and with so much of the crowd on the opposite side of the stadium — most of it didn’t feel much different than if it had been played on a video screen. The crowd swayed around a little, but nothing like in past years where fans of the main performers were brought out specifically for the show. The upside, of course, is the relative lack of cleanup. Even with some dancers — dressed up like The Weeknd’s heavily-bandaged character — taking the field toward the end of the show, the field stayed pristine and was ready to go right almost as soon as the performance ended.
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Feb. 7, 2021, 8:31 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:31 p.m. ET
Of all the things that contributed to the Chiefs’ first-half woes, skyscraper-high on the list is their self-inflicted mistakes. They committed eight penalties for 95 yards — to the Bucs’ one flag, for 5 yards — and many of them led directly to Tampa Bay points.
On the Bucs’ second scoring drive, a holding penalty nullified Tyrann Mathieu’s interception, and then an offside call on Ryan Succop’s field-goal attempt gave them a first down. On the very next play, Brady found Gronkowski for a 17-yard touchdown.
Then, just before Brady connected with Antonio Brown to push Tampa Bay’s lead to 21-6, Kansas City was flagged twice for pass interference — including a 34-yarder on Bashaud Breeland.
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:20 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:20 p.m. ET
Coming up next — once those pesky football players exit the field, that is — is the Grammy-winning singer the Weeknd, this year’s halftime performer.
But his halftime performance won’t look like what you’re used to in the Super Bowl. It will take place in the stands, instead of on the field, and he will not be surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans.
The Weeknd’s 12-minute performance will probably feature some of his hits, like “Blinding Lights” and “Can’t Feel My Face,” and perhaps a surprise: He says he spent $7 million of his own money to enhance the performance in unspecified ways.
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Tampa Bay heads into the locker room with a lead.
The Buccaneers’ efficiency and Patrick Mahomes’s struggles defined the half.
Patrick Mahomes has just 67 yards passing. The Chiefs defense has given up 73 yards on penalties alone.
Benjamin Hoffman Reporting from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Tampa Bay getting an extra score before halftime was eerily reminiscent of the N.F.C. championship game against Green Bay, when an interception set up a scoring drive for the Bucs in the final 30 seconds of the first half.
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:13 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:13 p.m. ET
Leaving Brady a minute was, in hindsight, a big mistake.
But the Chiefs made a few of their own, too: They called timeout before a third-down play to try to force a punt but didn’t make a stop on the ensuing play, then got whistled for a 34-yard pass-interference penalty. A Leonard Fournette run and another penalty put the ball on the 1-yard line with 10 seconds left.
And from there, Brady dropped back and rocketed a pass to Brown. Touchdown. It’s 21-6 now, and that Chiefs momentum they just had is gone.
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0:06 | 2nd Quarter
Antonio Brown’s 1-yard touchdown extends lead to 21-6.
A costly pass interference call took care of much of the yardage on the scoring drive.
The penalty gap keeps growing: Kansas City with seven, Tampa Bay with one.
Huge flag on a Tom Brady deep ball to Mike Evans, who was tackled by Bashaud Breeland before he could get to the ball. It’s a 34-yard pass interference penalty, and Tampa Bay has a chance to score before the half.
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 8:03 p.m. ET
Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Those three plays out of the two-minute warning will disappoint Mahomes, Andy Reid and Chiefs fans everywhere. But they salvage something with a 34-yard field goal by Butker, his second of the game.
Of course, they’ve also left Brady a minute to do more damage.
1:01 | 2nd Quarter
The Chiefs settle for a field goal and trail, 14-6.
Intense pressure forced Patrick Mahomes to throw the ball away on a critical third down.
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:59 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:59 p.m. ET
Mahomes trots to the sideline for the two-minute warning and it’s a big moment. He has guided the Chiefs from their 25 to the Tampa Bay 18, but Kansas City badly wants a score here to carry some momentum into halftime.
Remember, they deferred after winning the coin toss, so they’ll get the ball back first in the third quarter.
Ad whiplash from Rocket Mortgage (so many maskless people coming out of a movie theater!) to the oat drink company Oatly (chief executive Toni Petersson singing alone at a keyboard in the middle of a field).
Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Moments after a Ryan Succop field goal was taken off the board when a Chiefs penalty gave the Bucs a first down, Brady steps back and finds Gronkowski again. It’s 14-3 as we close in on halftime.
The Chiefs may be the defending Super Bowl champions but in the first half, in multiple ways, they have played like a fidgety team cowed by the weight of a Super Bowl appearance. The Buccaneers do not score their second touchdown without three Chiefs blunders. It began with a 29-yard punt by Kansas City’s rookie punter Tommy Townsend, who earlier had a 27-yard punt.
Townsend’s kick gave Tampa Bay possession at the Kansas City 38. The drive was extended twice by Chiefs errors: First, an interception of a deflected Brady pass was nullified by a defensive holding penalty, and then Kansas City lined up offside on the Succop field-goal attempt. That mistake gave the Buccaneers a first down and on the next play, Brady connected with Gronkowski for his second touchdown reception.
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6:05 | 2nd Quarter
Tampa Bay leads 14-3 after another Gronkowski TD.
A penalty took a field goal off the board, and the Buccaneers scored a touchdown instead.
The Chiefs are repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. They force a fourth-down field goal, but a player lined up in the neutral zone, giving the Bucs a first down deep in Kansas City territory.
A Tyrann Mathieu interception is wiped out by a holding penalty against the Chiefs.
Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
Tom Brady’s age may have finally been a factor as the Buccaneers opted to hand the ball off to Jones on fourth down at the goal line. Throughout his career, Brady has been arguably the best ever at the quarterback sneak. No one could burrow underneath, or over, or through a pile of huge linemen and come out unscathed like Brady. But over the last few years, the Patriots ran that kind of short-yardage play less frequently, perhaps as a way to preserve Brady’s health, and today the Buccaneers decided against it, too.
Benjamin Hoffman Reporting from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
The crowd has enough people that it can get fairly loud for big plays. But when play stops for commercials, it gets unusually quiet in the stadium.
The Chiefs can’t even get punting right. Their first booming punt was called back because of a holding penalty, and then Tommy Townsend shanked the second off his foot. The Bucs will start at the Chiefs’ 38-yard-line.
On third and long Mahomes is forced to scramble, but manages to find his favorite target, Travis Kelce. Kelce drops the ball, however, which is a pretty good summary of the Chiefs’ offense tonight.
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:31 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:31 p.m. ET
Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
After narrowly missing on the Super Bowl dream — a lineman touchdown reception — the Bucs ram running back Ronald Jones II at the Chiefs on two straight runs at the goal line.
Kansas City stuffs the first and then, stunning the Tampa crowd, does the same on the next play. This could be a big early momentum shift.
The Bucs challenged the call, but the line was so jammed there wasn’t really a view to review, or reason to overturn the call on the field.
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:27 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:27 p.m. ET
Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
A quick three-and-out series for Kansas City gave the ball back to Brady, and he picks up right where he left off on the touchdown drive.
The Bucs are on the front foot now, and the Chiefs are backing up. Brady, perhaps sensing that, goes for a big play — and finds Mike Evans on a deep route across the middle. The 33-yard gain sets up first and goal.
The Chiefs still can’t get anything rolling, and are forced to punt. It’s not a great one, just 27 yards.
Benjamin Hoffman Reporting from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Officially fans are not allowed to roam around the stadium, but in practice there is plenty of movement in sections, at the very least. Some fans have moved into other rows to celebrate with others.
Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
Patrick Mahomes completed only one of his first six passes, which isn’t surprising when you consider that he’s been throwing on the run from the start of the game. In fact, he’s been doing almost everything on the run.
Mahomes’s one completion was for three yards. But he has rushed three times for 24 yards. It all adds to a quarterback who is not being well protected. Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has thrown a variety of blitz looks at the Chiefs, including sending both cornerbacks on a third-and-8. Mahomes, as he often does, avoided the pressure but had to throw while sprinting, which led to another incompletion — a dart intended for Tyreek Hill that nailed Hill in the helmet. The pass, from the Tampa Bay 31-yard line was the Chiefs’ best shot at the end zone. The drive ended with a Kansas City Field goal.
The Chiefs will begin their next drive with great field position, as Byron Pringle returned the kickoff 41 yards.
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:11 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:11 p.m. ET
Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times
As New England weeps, an old Patriots connection — Brady to Rob Gronkowski — gets the Bucs into the end zone. The 8-yard touchdown capped a masterly play-calling drive by Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, who negated Kansas City’s eager pass rush with screens, quick passes and play-action calls.
Brady has really found his rhythm now: A 16-yard pass to Antonio Brown, an inside screen to Cameron Brate, and another pass to Brown on the outside moved Tampa Bay right down the field. But with the end zone beckoning, he found his old friend.
And lest anyone forget, Brady’s last touchdown pass in a Super Bowl went to Gronk. In the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LII, a New England Patriots loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Brady found Gronk for a pass that briefly put the Patriots ahead.
0:37 | 1st Quarter
Gronkowski gets into the end zone. Bucs lead, 7-3.
Tampa Bay looked like a different team, moving down the field in huge chunks.
Benjamin Hoffman Reporting from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
A 17-yard pass from Tom Brady to Antonio Brown woke up the crowd, which had been fairly quiet since Kansas City scored.
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:06 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:06 p.m. ET
The Buccaneers’ hopes of pressuring Mahomes rest in the very strategy — a four-man rush — deployed by the Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who, when he was with the Giants, orchestrated the defensive scheme that stifled Tom Brady in the Super Bowl after the 2007 season. With the Chiefs’ offensive line diluted by injuries and absences, this pathway to victory certainly exists for Tampa Bay.
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:02 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 7:02 p.m. ET
Credit…Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Harrison Butker gets us on the board with a 49-yard field goal after a third-down pass from Mahomes to Tyreek Hill hits Hill — at full extension — in the facemask at the goal line and bounces to the turf.
5:10 | 1st Quarter
The Chiefs take a lead with a 49-yard field goal.
A promising drive stalled, but after a series of punts, there are finally points on the board.
Feb. 7, 2021, 6:59 p.m. ET
Feb. 7, 2021, 6:59 p.m. ET
Big events like the Super Bowl always challenge streaming services, app developers and others because the normal daily traffic increases exponentially. Today is no different.
The CBS All Access app, the best way to watch the game in the United States if you do not have cable television or an antenna, seems to be down for a number of users.
CBS says they have fixed all issues with the streaming service:
Hi! The reported technical issues with the service have been resolved, please restart your CBS All Access app, and you can now return to streaming. If you continue to experience problems, please let us know. *MP
— CBS All Access Help (@cbsaahelp) February 8, 2021
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