Tampa Bay Buccaneers make unprecedented Super Bowl history

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will now become the first team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl in their home city.

The NFC Championship Game was quite the roller coaster ride. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held a 28-10 lead at the start of the third quarter to almost blowing it after a ferocious comeback by the Green Bay Packers. But all that mattered was the Buccaneers held on late in the fourth quarter to win 31-26.

With this, the Buccaneers are going to Super Bowl 55 and are officially the first team in NFL history to host a Super Bowl in their home city.

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All it took to accomplish this feat was signing Tom Brady

There have been close calls with this historic feat. Three years ago, the Minnesota Vikings were one win away from playing in Super Bowl 52 inside US Bank Stadium. However, they were trounced 38-7 by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.

All it took for the Buccaneers to host the Super Bowl dates back to one move in late March — the signing of Tom Brady. After spending the first 20 seasons of his career with the New England Patriots, the six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback decided to take his talents down to Tampa Bay. He didn’t come alone, as he brought along former Patriot tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Antonio Brown to further bolster Tampa Bay’s chances of making it to the Super Bowl.

But it wasn’t the Buccaneers’ offense that took them to the big game. It was the defense. Back in the Divisional Round, they forced four turnovers against the New Orleans Saints, with three coming off quarterback Drew Brees. This week, they sacked Aaron Rodgers five times, forced him to throw an interception and forced and recovered a fumble in the opening drive of the second half.

The Buccaneers are returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2003, and they won’t have to travel far. All they have to do is sit at home and wait for their AFC opponent to arrive for the biggest game of the season on Feb. 7.