Last season The Tampa Bay Bucaneers won the Super Bowl, taking out heavy favorites Kansas City Chiefs in the final match of the season. Last year was not a great year for the team until the playoffs, experiencing many defeats and looking shaky.
This year is a different story. Heading into the playoffs they are the second seed team in the NFC Conference. Philadelphia will be the first hurdle for the team, and the first hurdle for Tom Brady on his way to obtaining his 8thSuper Bowl Ring.
Consistency
At the start of the regular season the team from the sunshine state was the first in the salary cap era to reassign all its 22 starters from the Super Bowl Championship. This means that the team knows each other well. This has been seen throughout the season with Brady connecting with teammates for 43 touchdown passes after the first 17 games. The most of any quarterback. The team lost only four games during the regular season and clinched the NFC for the first time since 2007.
With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Miami Heat all doing great in their respective sports. There are plenty of franchises to bet on in Florida. You can get help finding the best bets and how to play on them on betflorida.com. No matter which team you are rooting for it is an exciting addition to a day of sports in front of the tv.
The Seed
Even though Tampa Bay progressed to the Super Bowl final last year by beating three division winners away from home, they will probably prefer an easier way to the final this year. By winning their last three games they secured a second seed in the NFC Conference.
This means that they will play their Wild Card Playoffs game at Raymond James Stadium against the Philadelphia Eagles. With the sun out in Florida, many fans will probably take the trip and be a part of the tailgate party before the match. Let’s just hope it doesn’t end up like this unfortunate event.
If they win against the Philadelphia Eagles, they will also be entitled to play the divisional playoff at their home ground. This should give them a huge advantage. It is expected that they will face the number one seed Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field, unless they stumble in their divisional playoff game. If they do, Tampa Bay will acquire the home advantage once again.
Covid-19
Right now, the daily number of covid-19 infections are declining, after the largest outbreak hit the country around New Year’s. With Florida being one of the areas hit the hardest, it might impact the Floridian-based team. If Tom Brady contracts the disease before a decisive game, it might not be certain that the back-up quarterback Blaine Gabbart is ready to fill in his shoes. However, the squad is 100 percent vaccinated, giving themself the best odds of avoiding an outbreak.
This year the route for the Super Bowl Final is much easier than last year for the Tamba Bay Buccaneers franchise. The team has performed better during the regular season and Tom Brady always gives up a good show when entering the “win or go home” games. Buccaneers might become the first team, since New England Patriots in 2004, to bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy in consecutive years. It might be 18 years ago, but the quarterback will be the same.