Chris Godwin reveals the Tom Brady secret to success in Tampa Bay

Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin credited Tom Brady for instilling a winning mentality when he arrived in Tampa Bay.

Before Tom Brady arrived, the Buccaneers were a team with potential but little to show for it. They went 7-9 in Bruce Arians’ first season as head coach and finished third in the NFC South.

After Brady arrived, the team improved to 11-5 and stormed through the playoffs towards Super Bowl triumph.

It wasn’t just Brady throwing the ball that made the difference. According to wide receiver Chris Godwin, it was the mentality he brought along.

“I think the biggest thing that he brought was the mentality of expecting to win over hoping to win,” Godwin said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “We’ve had a bunch of talented guys for years but could never really put it together. So the history of the team kinda creeps into your mind. You go into games like, as a competitor you’re like, ‘Yeah we can win this.’ But you’re really just hoping to win. But this year we approached every single game like, ‘We damn sure can win this game.’ There’s no reason why we couldn’t.”

Even during their slump in November, when they lost three of four games, Godwin says they didn’t waver. They viewed it as a few growing pains resulting from not having a regular offseason to gel as a team.

“Once the playoffs hit, there was no doubt in our mind that we were going to win,” Godwin said. “It was just a matter of showing everybody else.”

Back in 2019 and before, Jameis Winston couldn’t bring the gravitas to the quarterback spot that Brady carries. When you’re a six-time (now seven) Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL MVP, people tend to follow without question. And when Brady is around, a team definitely has reason to expect victories.