The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t supposed to be competitive in 2023. They weren’t supposed to sniff the playoffs, let alone leave the reigning, spiraling NFC Champions exposed as vaporware in a 32-9 Wild Card win.
Tom Brady had retired. For real this time. The two quarterbacks angling to replace the greatest passer of all time were Baker Mayfield, fresh off being crowned 2022’s worst starting quarterback, and Kyle Trask — a man with nine regular season passes and three completions to his name.
The offensive line that helped chase Brady into retirement wasn’t fixed. Donovan Smith left and Ryan Jensen suffered a second-straight season-ending injury before Week 1.
Defensive holdovers like Mike Edwards, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Keanu Neal and Logan Ryan left. Veteran leaders Lavonte David and Shaq Barrett each inched toward their mid-30s. Head coach Todd Bowles had just one winning season in five full seasons at the helm of an NFL team and that came back in 2015. There were plenty of reasons to believe this team would sink to the bottom of even a shaky NFC South.
I felt fine giving them the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft way back in April because, well, this team had all the depth and composition of a drink made up from wrung-out bar mats. But Caleb Williams isn’t coming to Florida, because this unit came together to make a ridiculous and delicious cocktail out of scraps. Somehow, Brady left, starters departed a defense with aging superstars and things got better.
Tom Brady’s departure sent the New England Patriots into a tailspin, but Tampa was able to take a discarded quarterback no one wanted and weave him into the offense seamlessly. Through Week 16, Baker Mayfield’s 0.141 expected points added (EPA) per dropback were seventh-best among all qualified starting quarterbacks. A Week 17 injury sapped that effectiveness and dropped out of the top 10, but that’s still a remarkable comeback from the guy who ranked 33rd of 33 — behind Zach Wilson! — with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams in 2022.
He had help. Rachaad White didn’t get much help from an offensive line that ranked 32nd when it came to yards allowed before contact on run plays (2.1 yards, same as 2022’s 32nd-ranked performance). While he was marginally effective as a runner (990 yards, but on 3.6 per carry) he thrived as a receiver. His 7.8 yards per target were fourth-most among all NFL tailbacks and 1.5 yards more than Leonard Fournette had averaged as Brady’s top receiver from the backfield last season.
Chris Godwin had another 1,000-yard season and guys like Trey Palmer and David Moore smoked the Eagles’ deficient secondary Monday night for long touchdowns. And, of course, Mayfield had a reliable football panacea in Mike Evans, who notched his 10th consecutive 1,000-yard season while tying for the league lead in touchdown catches.
The defense made strides as well. Antoine Winfield Jr. leveled up his game to provide much needed stability amidst a barely trustable secondary. Devin White and Lavonte David were solid in the middle of the field. Vita Vea proved the only thing you need to stop the Eagles’ tush push is a 350-pound leviathan of a man who would have solved Sisyphus’s dilemma by simply launching that boulder over a mountain of the Greek gods’ choosing.
.@Buccaneers stop the 2-pt tush push!!
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/Lpl1piR1IY— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
More importantly, Tampa’s young players came up big. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Calijah Kancey harassed Jalen Hurts all night, combining for three quarterback hits, 1.5 sacks and playing key roles on a third quarter safety that effectively shut the door on the Eagles’ meager comeback hopes. YaYa Diaby missed a chunk of the game due to injury, but the rookie third round pick led the team in sacks during the regular season.
SAFETY!!! 😳
📺: #PHIvsTB on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rFlj59UzNi pic.twitter.com/0B4YZd9q3E— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
This extended hot streak with house money may not last much longer. A date with the Detroit Lions looms, with Dan Campbell’s team at home in search of its first trip to the NFC title game since 1992. They’ll be significant underdogs against a team with a better record and higher expectations coming into the season.
But low expectations didn’t keep a Tampa Bay team out of the playoffs in what looked like a rebuilding year. It didn’t keep the Bucs from pointing and laughing at Philadelphia’s flaws in a Wild Card rout. And it may not keep them from ruining the best season the Lions have had in three decades.
