By Shaun Maloney
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers season ended following a 31-23 loss to the Detroit Lions in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. While changes will need to be made next season if the Bucs want to recapture the Super Bowl culture Tom Brady brought, the 2023 season was far from a failure.
Before the season, premier sports outlets such as CBS, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Focus predicted the Bucs to win less than six games this season. Fans and analysts alike were skeptical of Todd Bowles’s coaching ability and Baker Mayfield succeeding Tom Brady at the quarterback position.
“The Bucs scratched out eight wins last year with Tom Brady leading the league in pass attempts,” said Pro Football Focus after taking the Bucs under 6.5-win total “Their most likely path to success this year is a turnaround from both Baker Mayfield and the defense.” Fortunately for the Bucs, that is exactly what happened.
In a tumultuous NFC South Division, the Bucs were able to battle through a roller coaster of a season to a 9-8 record and division championship, securing a home playoff game. Mayfield put together a 4,000-yard season with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Many of Mayfield’s statistics made him a top-10 quarterback in the NFL.
Defensively, the Bucs finished as a top-10 unit in scoring, rushing, and team defense. The revival of Baker Mayfield’s career and key defensive pieces, such as safety Antoine Winfield, allowed the Bucs to shock the NFL world as a competitive team in the NFC.
After a 3-1 start, it appeared Tampa was ready to take full control of the NFC South, but following their Week 5 bye, the Bucs dropped 6 of their next seven games and were in danger of missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2019. At 4-7 with things looking bleak, the Bucs won a close game against their rival Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium in Week 13 to spark their 5-1 finish and secure the fourth seed in the NFC.
The stage was set for a Week 3 rematch as the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles returned to Tampa to face the Bucs. The Eagles beat the Bucs-handedly earlier in the season 25-11, but in the wild card round, the two teams drastically differed from their Sept. 25 meeting. After starting 10-1, the Eagles lost five of their final six games and limped into the postseason while the Bucs were one of the league’s hottest teams.
Tampa Bay would control from the first snap against Philadelphia and did not let their foot off the gas. Todd Bowles and company took advantage of a Philly defense that had lost their swagger and needed help finding an identity. Defensively, the Bucs held the Eagles’ eighth-ranked scoring offense to nine points. After the 32-9 victory, the Bucs headed to Detroit to take on the Lions amid their Cinderella run.
Lions’ head coach, Dan Campbell, turned around the Lions franchise, leading them to a 12-5 regular season record and in their first NFC championship appearance since 1991. Winning this game at Ford Field in Detroit would never be easy; however, the Bucs fought the entire game. After an even first half, Detroit opened a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Bucs got it down to an eight-point game and had a chance to send it to overtime before Baker Mayfield threw an interception with just over one minute left to seal the game.
While the season did not end in a Lombardi Trophy, the Bucs exceeded expectations this year and gave fans a tremendous ride. Baker Mayfield could remain in Tampa for the foreseeable future after proving himself to be a formidable quarterback and a great locker-room presence. There are some question marks, however, for Tampa Bay. Will veteran receiver Mike Evans be back next season? Will the Bucs stick with Todd Bowles or hire one of the vaunted head coaches on the market? It will be an interesting offseason for the Buccaneers as they try to find a new direction in the post-Tom Brady era.