The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the lowest win-loss percentage in NFL history. Despite this, Tampa Bay has two Super Bowls to its name.
The Bucs put together two of the most impressive Super Bowl victories in recent history − both in pretty lopsided fashion. How does each Tampa Bay championship team rank among all 58 Super Bowl winners? Here’s what ESPN writer Aaron Schatz thinks:
2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers had nearly all the pieces to call themselves a championship-caliber team. They just needed a quarterback.
So when the Bucs made a splash in free agency and won over QB Tom Brady, they found the final missing piece of the puzzle. Brady hoisted Tampa Bay to its first playoff appearance since 2007, and eventually led the way in a 31-9 Super Bowl victory against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Schatz ranked the Bucs’ 2020 Super Bowl team as the 20th-best championship team of all time. Here’s what he said about the team:
“The Buccaneers were fourth in total DVOA for 2020 although they would have been No. 1 without a single game, a 38-3 stomping at the hands of the Saints in Week 9. Overall, the Bucs were third on offense and fifth on defense.”
Schatz made sure to give credit to the massive turnaround Tampa Bay made after their bye week. The Bucs were 7-5 and won the final four games of the regular season, and then, of course, swept the playoffs.
2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Everything finally came together during the Bucs’ first Super Bowl-winning team. After letting go of HC Tony Dungy in the offseason and trading a first-round pick for former Raiders HC Jon Gruden, Tampa Bay found its footing in the playoffs. The Bucs arguably had one of the best defenses of all time and earned the No. 14 spot amongst championship teams by ESPN.
Here’s what Schatz wrote about the 2002 Bucs:
“This team ranked only 22nd in offensive DVOA. But the Bucs had the best pass defense DVOA ever put up in a full nonstrike season, and the third-best total defense in DVOA history behind the 1991 Eagles and 1986 Bears. Both sides of the ball worked together well once the Bucs got to the postseason, as they won by an average margin of 23.0 points per game.”
Tampa Bay cleared through the NFC, winning 31-6 against the 49ers and 27-10 against the Eagles. Led by 2002 Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks, the Bucs stomped the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in the Super Bowl.
Tampa Bay defensive back Dwight Smith logged two pick-sixes off Rich Gannon, and Bucs WR Keenan McCardell caught two touchdown passes from QB Brad Johnson.
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