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On defense, the team’s injury-riddled group surrendered 466 yards but bowed up when it mattered most, limiting the Bills in many of the game’s highest leverage situations (holding Buffalo to just two of 13 on third downs and forcing a critical three-and-out on the Bills’ opening overtime possession). It was a less-than-perfect win, but one that showcased the Buccaneers’ championship formula. Perriman, who became open thanks to a mesh-route concept over the middle of the field, did the rest, sprinting the rest of the 50-odd yards to pay dirt for a walk-off score. He guided the offense out from the shadow of its own end zone and out to near midfield, and on a crucial third-and-3 from the Tampa Bay 42-yard line, Brady hit Breshad Perriman in stride on a crossing route. The Worst Possible Playoff Matchups for the Top Eight Super Bowl ContendersĪfter missing his first opportunity to ice the game on the team’s final fourth-quarter possession, Brady did exactly what everyone in the stadium, everyone watching at home, and basically everyone on Earth (at some level of their subconscious) knew he’d do next. That was exceedingly clear when the Bills’ opening overtime drive went three-and-out and a familiar feeling of Brady-related inevitability took hold.
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And most importantly, they’ve still got Brady, who, at 44 years old, remains the league’s most inescapable force. Tampa Bay still has its suffocating, game-changing pass-rush group, an elite collection of skill-player talent, and a top-notch linebacker duo. Tampa Bay’s 33-27 overtime win over Buffalo on Sunday wasn’t always pretty, I’ll admit―particularly a very rough second-half stretch when it allowed Buffalo to erase a 21-point deficit―but the Bucs reminded everyone why they should still be considered the team to beat this year. This team suddenly looked shockingly mortal just another squad in the league’s jumbled mess of parity.īut every good story arc needs conflict, and the 2021 Buccaneers weathered their storm and emerged on the other side unscathed. Injuries had begun to mount, the defense’s takeaways had started to dry up, and offensive turnovers were becoming a problem. But a three-week slump in the middle of the season-a stretch in which Tampa Bay sandwiched their Week 9 bye with a pair of losses to New Orleans and Washington, respectively-dampened expectations. Early in the year, the Buccaneers somehow looked like a more complete version of the team that had won it all last season, and as they raced out to a 6-1 record through the first seven weeks, it felt like an all-but lock that Tom Brady and Co. Arizona Cardinals (10-3) Tom Brady and the Buccaneers feel inevitable again.įor every team, the NFL season is filled with twists and turns. With 14 weeks in the books, here’s my updated Power Rankings. 4 while the Rams knocked off the Cardinals in a wild NFC West bout on Monday Night Football. The increasingly hot Chiefs beat the Raiders to move up to no. The Buccaneers jumped up into the top spot on my rankings with a big win over the Bills on Sunday, but the Packers (who beat the Bears) and Patriots (on bye) aren’t far behind. The cream continued to rise to the top in the NFL in Week 14, with the league’s upper-echelon squads further separating themselves from the rest of the pack.