Fansided

Buccaneers attempt to repeat after keeping band together

By Russell S. Baxter

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JULY 26: Kevin Minter #51, Shaquil Barrett #58, and Devin White #45 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers talk during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center on July 26, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - JULY 26: Kevin Minter #51, Shaquil Barrett #58, and Devin White #45 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers talk during training camp at AdventHealth Training Center on July 26, 2021 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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Bruce Arians’ team looks to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the Patriots turned the trick in 2003 and ’04.

Best-case scenario

The defending Lombardi Trophy winners got hot when it counted most a year ago. Bruce Arians’ team sat with a mediocre 7-5 record after 12 games but ran the table the rest of the regular season. The Buccaneers became the first team since the 2010 Packers to win three straight road playoff games and then the Super Bowl.

But the franchise has not won a division title since 2007 and with all 22 starters returning from their 31-9 win over the Chiefs on Super Sunday, Bruce Arians’ club are now the favorites to win the NFC South. That would mean at least one home playoff game and a much easier postseason road.

Worst-case scenario

Todd Bowles’ defensive unit, most notably the secondary, had its issues early this past season. While the Buccaneers finished first vs. the run for the second consecutive year, the team ranked 21st in the league when it came to aerial yards allowed. In last season’s regular-season matchup with the Chiefs, wideout Tyreek Hill lit up the Tampa Bay secondary.

In 2020, the Bucs allowed 29 touchdown passes – two or more scores in 10 out of 16 contests. And Bowles’ group did allow six more TD tosses in four postseason contests (zero in Super Bowl LV). If the Tampa pass rush doesn’t come up big, could this be a major area of concern for the defending Super Bowl champions?

X-factor

General manager Jason Licht took a chance a year ago when the franchise brought wide receiver Antonio Brown aboard. He began the season serving an eight-game suspension (via Nick Shook of NFL.com) but was around for the rest of the regular season. He finished with 45 receptions for 483 yards and four scores. He missed the NFC title game but in the wild card win over Washington and the Super Bowl victory over the Chiefs he reached the end zone.

With the possibility of him playing a full season, it will be interesting to see the kind of numbers he could put up. His play-making ability after the catch is pretty impressive. And this was a player that set an NFL record with five straight seasons of 100-plus catches. Of course, Brady does like to spread the football around.

Biggest game – Week 3 at L.A. Rams

A year ago, Sean McVay’s club went to Tampa on a Monday night (Week 11) and handed the eventual Super Bowl champions a 27-24 loss. This year, this meeting will be the Buccaneers’ first road game after opening the year at home against the Cowboys and Falcons.

But this clash with the Rams is followed by a trip to Foxborough. In fact, the team’s appearance in Los Angeles is the start of a seven-game stretch (off in Week 9) in which Bruce Arians’ club is away from home five times. The other road tilts are at Philadelphia (Week 6), New Orleans (Week 8) and Washington (Week 10).

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Bold prediction

A franchise that first took the field in 1976 has had very few great moments but does own a pair of Lombardi Trophies. The first came in 2002 when the Buccaneers set a franchise record with a dozen wins and eventually captured Super Bowl XXXVII.

With the help of one extra regular season game this year, the team will set a new mark in terms of regular-season wins and that should be enough to win the NFC South for the first time since 2007. But repeating as Super Bowl champion will be a different story. It hasn’t happened since 2003 and ‘04 when Tom Brady and the Patriots captured Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. Don’t be shocked if the Bucs’ 2021 playoff run is extremely short.