The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had one of the best offenses in the league last season. Had their defense been somewhat competent, there's a good chance the team would have gone on a deep playoff run.
Instead, injuries and ineffective play saw the Buccaneers eliminated in the wild card round of the playoffs.
A few months removed from their home playoff loss, Tampa Bay believes they once again have a Super Bowl-caliber roster.
Pro Football Focus agrees with them. They graded the Bucs as the 10th best roster in the sport.
The big reason? A strong offense and improved defense should do the trick.
"With the addition of the dynamic Bucky Irving to the team’s backfield, the Buccaneers boasted one of the NFL’s most balanced offenses last season," PFF said. "They ranked among the top nine teams in PFF passing grade, PFF rushing grade, PFF receiving grade and PFF pass-blocking grade in 2024. The only other teams to accomplish that feat last season were the Falcons and Ravens."
If the coaching staff can continue to be productive despite another play-caller loss, the Buccaneers have everything they need to be an elite roster in 2025.
Last season, they were the only team to beat both the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. That mark should have been a message that they could hang with the elite teams in the league.
Not all of the critics received that message then. There has been a view of the Bucs as "second-tier'' ... and folks like GM Jason Licht have even griped, ever so slightly, about his team being "overlooked'' and "under the radar.''
Maybe that all changes now.
And for the Bucs? Yes, it's about actually contending when it matters most against those teams. ... and beyond.