Tom Brady’s arrival to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was heralded as the biggest move of the offseason and a major win for a franchise looking to make it back to the playoffs.
Brady made his reputation from winning titles in New England with the Patriots, guiding the franchise to nine Super Bowl appearances and six wins during his 20-year stint with the team. And now that Brady and his winning ways will be teaming up with receivers like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, not to mention Rob Gronkowski, it seems like the Bucs are destined to be one of the best teams in the league next year, or at the very least better than the Patriots. Right?
Well, not so fast.
In Seth Walder’s 2020 predictions piece over at ESPN.com, their Football Power Index revealed some surprising numbers about the Bucs and Patriots heading into the season.
Per Walder:
“Though FPI does have Tampa Bay as the better of the two franchises entering 2020, the Bucs and Pats are back-to-back in the model’s rankings at No. 8 and No. 9. That translates into a slight advantage for the Bucs in terms of chance to reach the playoffs. Tampa Bay has a 63% chance to reach the postseason, while FPI projects a 60% chance for New England. What about a seventh ring for Brady? Tampa Bay has a 4% chance to win the Super Bowl, and the Patriots have a 3% chance. Though the Bucs are legitimate contenders, these are the worst preseason projections a Brady-led team has had since ESPN started doing them in 2015.”
This is a pretty startling reveal, especially when you consider the fact that the Patriots seem ready to roll with an unproven quarterback in former fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham.
New England’s offense also struggled mightily towards the end of last season, even with Brady under center. And even though Brady won’t be with the Patriots this season, he and Bill Belichick will still be the talk of the NFL.
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