After one of the most uncertain and overall weird NFL seasons, it all ends up with the Lombardi Trophy back in Brady’s hands as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Buccaneers Preseason
The 2020 NFL season started off with a big move as the Bucs began the preseason signing the greatest QB of all time in Tom Brady. The move became official on March 20th, as the former Patriots QB signed a 2 year, 5o million dollar deal. As much as the move seemed obvious for the Bucs to make, Brady was going to be playing at 43 and playing for another team for the first time in his career. The uncertainty and many question marks surrounding the move was immense, but the reward of a Super Bowl overpowered the uncertainty. After the Tom Brady signing, the Buccaneers didn’t stop. They signed Rob Gronkowski and Leonard Fournette among other players.
Buccaneers Training Camp
A delayed training camp threw off what would normally be a time for Brady to get ready for another season. After 20 years in the league, Brady was accustomed to ritual and this definitely wasn’t normal for him. Eventually, training camp begun and Brady didn’t miss a beat as he learned the playbook quickly and got the Bucs ready for a season like none other.
Early On In The Season
On September 13th, the Buccaneers played their first game of the year as they took on the Saints. This game didn’t end well as the Saints continued their reign in the NFC South winning 34-23. The Sunday after that, the Buccaneers leveled the Panthers, winning their first game of the season. As the season went on, the Bucs started to get on a role. Through eight weeks of the season, the Bucs were 6-2, playing terrific football. The Buccaneers needed an extra push though. On Tuesday, October 27th, Tampa Bay made a move that impacted the season greatly, signing WR Antonio Brown.
A Rough Stretch
The addition of Brown didn’t have an impact right away, as the Buccaneers lost 3 out of their next 4 games, dropping to 7-5. All three of their losses were to teams that ended up making the playoffs. Their biggest lost was the game they played on Sunday Night Football against the Saints. The Bucs lost this game 38-3. Another one of their losses in this period came against the Chiefs in which they allowed Mahomes to throw for 462 yards. Tyreek Hill also picked up 269 yards and burned the Bucs for 3 touchdowns. The Bucs did end up recovering from this drought, as they won their last 4 games of the season and pulled into the 5th seed at 11-5.
The Playoffs
In the Wild Card Round, the Buccaneers faced the WFT. In this game, the Bucs snuck out a victory winning 31-23. Then in the NFC Divisional Round, the Buccaneers beat the Saints for the first time since September 9th of 2018. From here, the Bucs traveled to Lambeau Field to face MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the NFC Championship. In a great game, the Buccaneers won to advance to Super Bowl LV.
Buccaneers’ Super Bowl Win
The Super Bowl was the final destination for the Buccaneers, as they looked for their second Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. And guess what, the Buccaneers got that second Lombardi Trophy, in a tremendous upset win over the Chiefs. The Bucs defense had their best showing of the season, forcing Patrick Mahomes into having his worst NFL game.