This is a list of 5 players I felt had the best game in Super Bowl 55. Next week there will be another list of 5 losers. 

Harrison Butker

Kicking off the list of winners is a guy who was rather disappointing all season. Harrison Butker, the placekicker for KC, has hit a rough patch this last year. Butker led the NFL in points scored in 2019. He was almost automatic. But to many people’s surprise, he had a down year in 2020. Although he was still above average, he struggled early in the season on extra points. His extra point percentage dropped from 93.8 in 2019 to 88.9 in 2020. However, his field goal kicking was spot on all season, and it showed in the big game. Butker was responsible for all 9 of the Chiefs’ points. He went 3 for 3 on field-goal attempts and saved KC from being held scoreless. 

Frank Clark

Playoff Frank Clark strikes again. Most can argue that Clark’s regular-season production has been rather bad since being traded to KC, especially for a guy worth a first-round pick and over 20 million a year. However, his postseason success has been a huge factor. Super Bowl 55 was no different. Clark had the only sack of the night for the Chiefs and four total tackles, two of which were for a loss. On a bad night for the KC defense, Clark played an average game, which was probably one of the best performances for that unit. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire

This rookie dazzled in his first Super Bowl when given the chance. The Chiefs clearly didn’t believe in getting the run game going from the start. KC started the game with eight straight passes and zero runs on their first drive, which ended in a punt. Overall as a team, they only ran the ball 17 times. Granted, the Chiefs were behind the entire game, and running the ball became an afterthought. But CEH was making plays every chance he got. 9 carries for 63 yards is a great statline that could have been even better. You can’t help but wonder if the Chiefs had used him more, maybe the game would have slowed down and the Buccaneers wouldn’t have had as many chances to score…

Damien Wilson

Wilson was just about the only player on the Chiefs defense who was interested in actually tackling. He was solid at the linebacker spot during the game, leading the team in tackles with 10. Wilson was also the main force in the crucial goal-line stop at the one-yard line early in the second quarter. The play kept KC from being down 14-3, however, that meant nothing later as the Chiefs would punt after the stop and the Buccaneers would score, making it 14-3 anyway.

At the end of the day, this was still a great play. A rare stop by the Chiefs inside the red zone was something to be proud of, especially at the one-yard line. Wilson was the best of all the Chiefs defenders in this game. 

Patrick Mahomes

Looking at the stat sheet might say otherwise, but Mahomes was the only player on the Chiefs to show up and play their best football for 60 minutes. No, he didn’t score a touchdown, yes he threw two interceptions, yes he gained most of his yards in garbage time. However, if you watched the game, you’d know that Mahomes was easily the best player on the field for KC. He continued his usual amazing throw after amazing throw, only to be let down by his teammates.

Football is a team game. Mahomes can’t be expected to block, throw and catch the football. There were about three dropped touchdowns in this game, including the throw seen around the world. A throw so amazing it ended up on the NFL’s top plays of the year list, as an incompletion. A throw that was made while Mahomes was completely horizontal to the ground, in the air, 30 yards downfield, right into the hands of Darrell Williams. Of course, this touchdown was dropped, but it just goes to show how good Mahomes played, and how bad everyone else was.

Obviously, Mahomes did have his share of bad plays, however, he made up for it and then some. The rest of the Chiefs might as well have stayed on the plane. It’s impossible to win being pressured 29 times, which is a Super Bowl record, by the way. After this game, Mahomes should expect the game check from every player on the team, and probably an apology letter with it.