Brian Baldinger Remembers The “Pinnacle” Of Lavonte David’s Career
March 27th, 2026
Champion.
It may not have been Lavonte David’s best game. But it was certainly his most memorable.
Former NFL offensive lineman and NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger said the pinnacle of any career is the game in which the player wins a ring. And Baldinger thinks that one of David’s best games was the night the Bucs won the Super Bowl in February 2021, on the turf of The Licht House.
David was matched up with Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, Pat Mahomes’ favorite target. Kelce and David were in their primes.
Did David shut down Kelce? Not exactly.
Did David make Kelce work for every catch he made? You betcha.
Most importantly, did David keep Kelce out of the end zone? Hell, yes!
In what was one of the greatest defensive efforts ever seen in a Super Bowl, David was a critical cog for the Bucs being a first-class pest to Kelce.
And as David has now exited stage right for his career, Baldinger thought it would be fitting to celebrate David’s play on the game’s biggest stage — in David’s biggest game.
.@Buccaneers @Chiefs #SBLV @LavonteDavid54 played every snap; as per usual; and was tasked with shadowing @tkelce …. Helped keep the Chiefs out of the endzone that evening. Onto his next chapter…He will be missed but never forgotten. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/q1fqPleJpU
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) March 25, 2026
March 27th, 2026 at 1:47 am
Everyone loves a Baldy Breakdown. Nice tribute.
March 27th, 2026 at 2:22 am
LVD will be missed. Ultimate Professional.
One of his plays stands out to me is his late 4th Quarter fumble recovery during the Rams playoff game when Suh stripped the ball from the running back. Huge play and The Goat led Offence tied the game up and we came back and won the Game! Oh hold on, no…Dependable Bowels and Cooper Kupp. Been downhill ever since.
March 27th, 2026 at 2:36 am
Evans, I don’t want to hear that crap. Honestly and I’m sorry for being more blunt than normal, but for WEEKS we heard how we didn’t belong, how the Chiefs were amazing and going to smoke us. Tom Brady threw 3 picks, blah, blah, blah. WEEKS!!! No one had us winning. It wasn’t until the day of when I first heard that the Chiefs MIGHT be in trouble.
March 27th, 2026 at 3:37 am
lvd seen on haight st tonight…
having din din with kyle shanaflam and george diddle
🙂
March 27th, 2026 at 3:41 am
the chiefs scored 3 field goals that night…
3…….three………………………………………….yes three.
back when bowles “was” a defensive mastermind
March 27th, 2026 at 5:32 am
He had loads of talent on his defense and will again…soon. He will have quite a bit this year.
March 27th, 2026 at 7:04 am
Trolls, trolls everywhere…
Nice tribute. Love Baldy.
March 27th, 2026 at 7:21 am
It was awesome. I was at the game, COVID year, no one sitting next to me. Spent $42K for two great seats and it was worth every penny. Bucs DOMINATED the Chiefs. We kicked the Chiefs AZZ. A memory I will never forget even if I get Alzheimer’s
March 27th, 2026 at 8:13 am
3-28 trolling chiefs fan or just a buc s hater?
March 27th, 2026 at 8:25 am
Nope… no asterisks.
March 27th, 2026 at 9:05 am
Baldy is very good at what he does, great tribute to David whom did not get the credit he deserved often enough. He will be missed!!. Really hope he goes on to coach. I think the game could use him , lol so could the Bucs.
March 27th, 2026 at 11:07 am
It must be noted with an asterisk- the Chiefs had a 70 year old Denny’s waitress at one OT position, and a dance mom at the other OT. Kelce had one crucial drop that could have changed the face of the game. There were 6 Mahomes passes that were catchable that clanged off dudes’ facemasks.
Point is, they missed a lot more plays than the Bucs made. They also had a lot more questionable penalties callled against them than the Bucs did.
Bowles gets way too much credit for that game, where he had a boss who was the head coach.
Never forget Cooper Kupp.
March 27th, 2026 at 1:04 pm
@3.28.Evans
And if it was a 5th we’d all be drunk. If Mike Evans didn’t leave he’d still be on the Bucs. Chiefs got dominated! when they beat us in the regular season we were missing key players as well. The Chiefs defense laid an egg lol
March 27th, 2026 at 2:33 pm
Was his best game ever. David at midfield against wanna be goliath Kelsey to start it off.
And he handled him all night. Was a beautiful thing
March 27th, 2026 at 2:41 pm
King David
March 27th, 2026 at 3:04 pm
LVD was a far better linebacker than Kelce is/was a receiver. That was a mismatch in the Bucs favor. Pretty cool.
March 27th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
One of the key points is that Bowles is a very good DC when he has a great coach looking over his shoulder. Arians managed Bowles quite well. When that guy is not around to say “Todd, don’t do that” then we end up with the debacle we’ve suffered through for the last 3-4 seasons.
March 27th, 2026 at 4:09 pm
HOF career game
March 27th, 2026 at 5:51 pm
3.28, turn in your man card and go watch golf!
March 27th, 2026 at 7:11 pm
Imagine being such a loser that you’re whining about the opponent having injuries in the SB win…