Super Bowl 55 pressure on Buccaneers' DB Carlton Davis after what happened last time against Chiefs

A quick rundown on items of interest for Super Bowl 55:

— Who’s hot: Devin White. Missing two games during the stretch run while on the COVID-19 list hardly slowed the roll of the Bucs rising star of a linebacker. Instead, he returned like a man on a mission. And with fresh legs. White tallied a franchise-record 15 tackles and recovered a fumble during the NFC title game at Green Bay, which followed an 11-tackle comeback game in the divisional playoff at New Orleans, where he also had an interception and a momentum-swinging fumble recovery. The postseason impact put the energetic second-year inside linebacker back on the track established during the regular season, when he led the team with 140 tackles, collected 9 sacks and earned second-team All-Pro honors. He insists that he used his time away to be a better student of the game. In missing the regular-season finale at Atlanta and the playoff-opening win at Washington, he sent text-messages to the coaching staff at halftime with his observations from watching at home on TV. Despite testing positive for the coronavirus, White maintained that he never experienced any symptoms. And he’s backed up that assessment with big-time playoff performances.

— Pressure’s on: Carlton Davis. The Bucs cornerback can stand to have a short memory, given what happened the last time he saw the Chiefs. Then again, maybe it will help to never forget the manner in which he was exploited by Tyreek Hill when charged with man-to-man coverage. In Week 12, Hill blistered Davis for much of his 203 yards on seven catches with two TDs — in the first quarter. Of course, one solution might be for Bucs D-coordinator Todd Bowles to keep Davis out of single coverage situations.

— Key matchup: Frank Clark vs. Donovan Smith. After the AFC title game, Clark was a bit salty when asked about Tom Brady, grumbling, "We’ll see his (butt) on Sunday." Well, Sunday is almost here and the Chiefs’ premier pass-rusher will get his shot — if he can get past Smith, the sixth-year veteran left tackle protecting Brady’s blind side. It’s a given that pressuring Brady — if not with sacks, then getting him off his spot and out of rhythm — is a key in every matchup. And the Chiefs defense, crafted by a coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, who had such success with the Giants’ "NASCAR" package that fueled Brady’s first Super Bowl loss against the Giants, includes premier rushers in Clark and D-tackle Chris Jones. The Bucs have extensively used formations with five- and even six-man offensive lines to beef up the protection against Brady, who needs the time to try executing the deep passes that are such a staple in Bruce Arians’ offense. Imagine the possibilities if Smith can consistently handle Clark without much help.

— Next man up: Mike Remmers. Actually, Remmers has been in the starting lineup for weeks. But he flips from right tackle to the left tackle after Eric Fisher suffered an Achilles injury in the AFC title game and is charged to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side. Meanwhile Andrew Wylie kicks out from right guard to right tackle, while Stefen Wisniewski will roll at right guard. Got it? The mobile Mahomes is undoubtedly capable of compensating for the losses to some degree — maybe to a major degree, given his accuracy while throwing on the run and gift for making magic out of broken plays. Yet it should be noted that Remmers, then with Carolina, was pulverized when matched against Von Miller in Super Bowl 50 ... when Miller became Super Bowl MVP. Sure, it’s a different deal. But tell that to Jason Pierre-Paul, the Bucs weak side outside linebacker and sack leader (9 1/2) who will often match up on Remmers.

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— Did you notice? Of all the numbers, patterns and tidbits covering Tom Brady’s magnificent Roman Numeral history, it is so striking that in nine Super Bowls he has never led his team to a first-quarter touchdown. Maybe something changes with Brady’s switch to the Bucs. Then again, maybe not. During the regular season, Tampa Bay scored fewer points in the first quarter (88) than in any quarter.

— Stat’s the fact: Patrick Mahomes, poised to become the youngest quarterback to start two Super Bowls (25 years, 143 days old), will head into 55 as the NFL’s highest-ranked postseason passer (minimum 200 attempts). In seven career postseason starts, the Chiefs star has a 109.8 efficiency rating.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.