I made a comment on Spurtability (my weekly sports podcast, go subscribe) that I thought the Bucs would go down as one of the worst teams of the last 20 years to make the Super Bowl. Well, uh, I was wrong. Each week of the playoffs I bet against the Bucs, and each week I was wrong. I never learned my lesson and then had to eat crow last night as I watched them dismantle one of the best offenses in the history of the NFL.
I don’t know why I ever pick against Tom Brady. The man is an absolute machine. He’s 43-years-old and doesn’t look like he’s going to be slowing down any time soon. Yes, he has all the weapons, and yes he was in a great situation this year, but this is a team that last year, with most of the same weapons, finished 7-9 and wasn’t even close to contending for a playoff berth. That’s the Tom Brady difference. All of the people saying that he was a productive of New England’s system were proved to be just as dumb yesterday as I was for picking against him this playoffs.
And it wasn’t only Brady that was the star of yesterday. In fact, the light probably should be shined the brightest on Tampa Bay’s defense. Yes, the Chiefs were playing with backups on the offensive line, but nobody has done that to Patrick Mahomes since he took over for the Chiefs in 2018. Todd Bowles drew up a perfect game plan, and his players did the rest.
I was rooting for the Chiefs last night, so it was a frustrating watch but, man, was that a great performance all around. We even got to see vintage Gronk go out there and score two touchdowns, one on a great route 20 yards down the field.
There’s really no reason to think that Brady can’t come back next year and do the same thing. Until we see Brady actually start to slow down with age, I’m not sure that I believe that he ever will. The man is a machine that’s not built like the rest of us.
So, hats off to you Tom Brady and Tampa Bay. I underrated you all year, and, if we’re honest, I have a big dumb brain and probably will all of next year too. Check back in one year from today to see if I’m writing a similar apology post or if I’ve learned my lesson.