Tom Brady’s first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went about as well as possible. Despite not having a traditional preseason due to COVID-19, that didn’t stop Brady from leading his new team to the Super Bowl, where they dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs in a 31-9 laugher.
Now, with much of last year’s roster still intact, many are wondering if Tampa Bay can do what Kansas City could not; win back-to-back titles. We have already been working through different bettings apps for NFL to see which provide the best odds.
If anyone can do it, it’s Brady. He was, after all, part of the last NFL team that successfully defended its championship when he won consecutive Super Bowls with the 2003 and 2004 New England Patriots. Nobody has done it since, largely because Brady thwarted two of the teams that were attempting to do so (last year’s Chiefs and the 2014 Seattle Seahawks).
Brady is another year older now – he turns 44 in August – but another year wiser as well. He’s had an entire year to learn Bruce Arians’ scheme and build rapport with his teammates, many of whom are returning this year. While it took awhile for Brady to get on the same page with everyone last year, that won’t be the case again this year.
As for the rest of the Bucs, they boast one of the most complete rosters in the NFL. They’ve surrounded their Hall-of-Fame quarterback with an impressive array of weapons at wide receiver (Mike Evans and Chris Godwin), tight end (Rob Gronkowski and O.J. Howard), and running back (Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones), making them incredibly difficult to defend. After ranking third in points scored last year, Tampa Bay will once again feature one of the league’s most potent offenses.
The Buccaneers’ defense is equally loaded. In addition to having one of the best run defenses in the NFL last year, Tampa Bay also had a fearsome secondary that produced 48 sacks. The Bucs have recorded 53 takeaways over the past two seasons combined – fourth-most in the NFL.
In short, the Buccaneers don’t really have any holes. After starting out 7-5 last year while they worked out the kinks with Brady, but went 8-0 after their bye week (including the postseason) while outscoring their opponents by 118 points. With an extra game on the schedule this year, there’s a good chance they win 13 or 14 games during the regular season, as they’re clearly the best team in the NFC talent-wise and are heavily favored to win their conference as a result.
After that, they shouldn’t have too much trouble making it back to the NFC Championship Game, if not the Super Bowl, especially if Aaron Rodgers ends up leaving the Green Bay Packers. Whoever wins the NFC West will likely be Tampa Bay’s most formidable roadblock to the Super Bowl, where the Chiefs or Buffalo Bills will likely be waiting.
Predicting the postseason in any sport is always a crapshoot, especially before the regular season even starts. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the Buccaneers have enough talent on both sides of the ball to make another Super Bowl run. On paper, they should be the best team in the NFL.
While it’s generally unwise to bet on teams repeating as champions, it usually doesn’t pay to bet against Tom Brady, either.