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How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Got to the 2021 Super Bowl

how-the-tampa-bay-buccaneers-got-to-the-2021-super-bowl

At this time a year ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not really on anybody’s radar. Jameis Winston was set to become a free agent after an up-and-down season, and it was uncertain that the Bucs would have interest in bringing him back. Tampa Bay was a team with plenty of talent on both sides of the football, but their uncertain quarterback situation kept them from being taken seriously as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Quarterbacks are pretty important when it comes to succeeding in the NFL. The Buccaneers’ last playoff appearance came in 2007. The list of QBs the team cycled through over the course of its lengthy postseason drought include luminaries like Josh Freeman, Josh McCown, Mike Glennon, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tampa Bay hoped Winston would be the long-awaited savior at the position, but he never quite panned out.

Needless to say, everything changed on March 20, 2020, when Tom Brady decided to put pen to paper on a contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady had no shortage of suitors after he decided to leave New England as a free agent, but he chose to sign with Tampa Bay because he liked what he saw with regard to the roster and coaching staff. Wideouts Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are two of the best pass-catchers he’s ever had at his disposal, while he was ultimately able to convince Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement, too.

Tom Brady is officially a Tampa Bay Buccaneer!

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) March 20, 2020

Brady’s arrival was enough to transform the Bucs from also-rans into legit Super Bowl 55 contenders. It wasn’t an easy road, but Tampa Bay is set to become the first team in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl in their home stadium. How did the Buccaneers get to Super Bowl 55?

Instant Test vs. Saints

Brady and the Bucs were thrust right into the fire in Week 1. The lack of preseason and full offseason training program wasn’t going to do the new-look Bucs any favors, but the NFL’s scheduling gods wanted to see what they were made of right away. Brady and the Buccaneers kicked off the campaign with a trip to New Orleans to face Drew Brees and the Saints in the first game of the campaign.

While Tampa Bay was competitive in this game, they ultimately weren’t able to overcome some early-season rust.

Brady threw a pair of interceptions in the 34-23 defeat, which is something we haven’t often seen from the future Hall-of-Famer over the years. Brady had thrown just eight interceptions total in his final season with the Patriots. Despite the fact that it was just a one-game sample, his shaky showing had many wondering whether he would be able to rediscover his old form with a new team.

It didn’t take long for Brady to bounce back, though. The Bucs reeled off three consecutive wins following their Week 1 defeat. Brady played well in the 31-17 win over the Panthers in Week 2 before combining to throw eight touchdown passes in Weeks 3 and 4 combined. The Bucs rolled the Broncos 28-10 before a seven-point win over the Chargers the following week.

Statement Win Over Green Bay

The Bucs suffered a hiccup with a one-point loss in Chicago in Week 5, but their next true test came in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay was fresh off of an NFC Championship Game appearance the year before, and the Packers had started the new campaign a perfect 4-0. Aaron Rodgers and co. also had two weeks to prepare for Tampa Bay following an early bye in Week 5.

This game was billed as the “Game of the Week,” but it turned into one of the most lopsided games of the entire season. Green Bay jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but it was all downhill from there. The Bucs stormed back to score four touchdowns in the second quarter alone before adding another 10 points after halftime. Tampa Bay’s defense forced Rodgers into throwing a pair of uncharacteristic interceptions on their way to holding the Packers scoreless over the game’s final three quarters. Brady and the Bucs emerged with a signature 38-10 win, which put Tampa Bay back on track.

Tom Brady has brought the @Buccaneers championship discipline, according to @JimmyJohnson:

“It all turned around in the Chicago game. Brady went crazy. The very next week they had zero offensive penalties & beat Green Bay 38-10.” pic.twitter.com/4MjnZ5IqVr

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) January 25, 2021

The Bucs stormed their way to an easy 45-20 win over the Raiders in Las Vegas the next week before a two-point win over the Giants. Brady and co. posted a 6-2 record entering their highly-anticipated Sunday night rematch against the Saints in early-November.

Another Setback

Unfortunately for the Bucs, this game was essentially over before it even began. The Saints marched into Tampa Bay and quickly sapped the life out of the building. Tre’Quan Smith opened the scoring for New Orleans with a 14-yard touchdown grab on the first drive of the game. Each of the Bucs’ first four drives ended in three-and-outs, with the fifth drive ending on another Brady interception.

Tampa Bay’s defense could do nothing to slow down Brees and the Saints’ offense. With Brady and the Buccaneers struggling to get anything going on the other side of the ball, New Orleans built an overwhelming 31-0 lead entering halftime.

The Bucs mustered a field goal late in the fourth quarter to avoid the ultimate embarrassment, but a 38-3 home loss to a division rival was seemingly a devastating blow to Tampa’s chances of claiming the NFC South crown at season’s end.

Ending The Season On A High

The Bucs lost two of their three games immediately following the debacle against the Saints, including a 27-24 loss at home against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. However, that loss to Kansas City is still the most recent defeat on the Bucs’ resume. Tampa Bay is a perfect 7-0 since that setback against the Chiefs back on November 29.

Tony Romo called Chiefs-Bucs Super Bowl in November … two months after his colleague https://t.co/HHb4wyx5bZ

— The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) January 25, 2021

Tampa Bay closed out the season on a four-game winning streak with victories over the Vikings, Falcons (twice), and Lions. However, there was still plenty of skepticism regarding Tampa Bay’s status as a legitimate Super Bowl threat. The Bucs finished the season 11-5, but their aforementioned victory over the Packers was really their only impressive “W” of the campaign. In fact, the Packers were the only playoff team the Bucs beat during the regular season. Tampa Bay largely benefited from a soft schedule.

Road Back to Tampa Bay

Despite their 11 regular-season wins, the Bucs had to settle for one of the NFC’s Wild Card slots. Those two losses to the Saints were ultimately enough to hand New Orleans the division title, which meant Brady was beginning the postseason as a Wild Card for the first time in his career. That meant the Bucs were very likely facing three straight road games if they were lucky enough to advance in the postseason.

The postseason began with a fairly easy matchup. The Bucs went to Maryland to take on the Washington Football Team, who managed to win the miserable NFC East despite an underwhelming 7-9 record. The Football Team was forced to start Taylor Heinicke at quarterback in this one.

Kyle Allen suffered a season-ending injury, while Alex Smith’s calf injury kept him sidelined for this one. The Bucs had the fortune of facing a fourth-string QB in a playoff game, which is something we certainly don’t see all that often.

While Heinicke and the Football Team did put up a fight, the Bucs were ultimately able to leave town with a 31-23 win. Brady racked up 381 yards passing with a pair of touchdown strikes as Washington had no answer for Mike Evans.

Saints-Bucs III

As fate would have it, Brees and Brady met once again in the Divisional Round. The Saints had to be feeling confident after sweeping the regular-season series over the Bucs, but it’s hard to beat the same team three times in a season. As we know, it’s also incredibly difficult to write-off Brady come playoff time.

https://t.co/kvv2dNTmHS pic.twitter.com/ND8nmGmZG7

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) January 12, 2021

New Orleans jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with a pair of Wil Lutz field goals, but the Bucs were able to storm back and knot the game at 13 heading into halftime. New Orleans opened the third quarter with a touchdown drive, but it was all Tampa Bay from there. Brady led a touchdown drive of his own later in the quarter before a Ryan Succop kick put the Bucs ahead 23-20 early in the fourth.

The Bucs intercepted Brees on the following drive before Ronald Jones punched in another Tampa Bay score to extend the lead to 10 points. Brees was intercepted for a third time on the very next drive, which catapulted Brady to yet another conference title game.

Victory at Lambeau

The 14th conference championship game of Brady’s career came on the road at Lambeau Field. The Packers certainly hadn’t forgotten the 38-10 thwacking they took in Tampa several months before, and Green Bay entered the weekend as the odds-on favorites to win Super Bowl 55.

However, Brady wouldn’t be denied. Thanks in large part to some lackluster last-second defending from the Packers, Brady was able to connect with Scotty Miller on a long touchdown just before halftime to give the Bucs a commanding 21-10 lead. The Packers stormed back to make a game of it in the second half thanks to some unusual mishaps from Brady, but Rodgers and co. ultimately ran out of time.

Tampa Bay came away with a 31-26 win to clinch the franchise’s second-ever appearance in the Super Bowl. On February 7, Brady will look to win a record seventh Super Bowl in his 10th career appearance in the big game. After playing in three straight road games to begin the postseason, the Bucs will come home for a rematch against Mahomes and the Chiefs as three-point underdogs.

Taylor Smith

Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …

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