Shaq Barrett says Buccaneers’ Super Bowl performance even surprised him

Shaq Barrett says that his Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl performance even left him surprised.

The Bucs entered their game against Kansas City as underdogs, yet they unleashed a dominant 31-9 win. Part of the game was influenced by officiating, but the Bucs still held the Chiefs to single digits, which is remarkable.

Barrett, who had a sack in the Super Bowl, was a big part of the team’s defensive success. He told “The Jim Rome Show” on Thursday that preventing Kansas City from scoring a touchdown even surpassed his expectations.

"To come out there and hold them to zero touchdowns, that surpassed my expectations."

Super Bowl champion @ShaquilBarrett joins @jimrome to talk about the Bucs' defense in Super Bowl LV and how they were able to get into Mahomes' head. pic.twitter.com/3Nm4UrpPGS

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) February 11, 2021

“I just wanted to win by any means necessary. But to come out there and hold them to zero touchdowns surpassed my expectations,” Barrett acknowledged.

Barrett said he figured the Chiefs’ offense would squeak through with a big play or two, but they didn’t.

Barrett has been with the Bucs for two seasons and led the NFL in sacks in 2019 with 19.5. He had three sacks in Tampa Bay’s win over Green Bay in the NFC Championship Game and added the Super Bowl sack.

Tom Brady and the Bucs’ offense gets a lot of the attention, but Barrett and the defense deserve a lot of love for what they accomplished too.