Ndamukong Suh still remembers the first meeting with Kansas City in Tampa, and he didn’t sugarcoat it.
Speaking on the High Peformance podcast on Wednesday, the former Buccaneers defensive tackle said the Chiefs “came in, in Tampa and destroyed us,” a blunt assessment of the Bucs’ 27-24 regular-season loss that helped shape the approach for Super Bowl LV.
Patrick Mahomes was the difference in that game, carving up Tampa Bay for 462 yards and three touchdowns while completing 37 of 49 passes. Suh did his part with five tackles, including one for loss, but the Bucs still walked away beaten.
That loss, though, became part of the blueprint.
Suh said he “begged” then-defensive coordinator Todd Bowles to make changes before the rematch, pointing to what Tampa Bay had up front and where it could afford to lean harder.
“I told him [Bowles] and I was like, ‘Hey man, we’re watching film. I’m looking at these different things.
This this offensive line as a whole has no chance against our defensive line. Put all the pressure on us up front in the front seven of our defense because we have a young back group, back end of guys from DBs, our corners and our safeties.’”
Bowles listened, and the Bucs built their Super Bowl plan around the strength of the front seven. Suh said Bowles would look into it before ultimately trusting the veteran tackle’s read and leaning into the defensive line’s edge.
The result was a complete reversal from the first matchup. Tampa Bay shut Mahomes and the Chiefs out of the end zone and rolled to a 31-9 win in Super Bowl LV.
Suh was right in the middle of it again, finishing with 1.5 sacks as part of a three-sack night for the Bucs’ front seven.
“And so being able to have a coach that was willing to change and adapt to some different things to understand what’s best for the team, I think was key, but then also us being able to execute,” Suh said.
It was a simple idea, carried out with veteran conviction: trust the front, adjust the plan, and let the defense take control.
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