43. A number that has no special meaning for most, but for Bucs fans, they know full well what the number 43 stands for. This season, Tom Brady, at the age of 44, has been absolutely exceptional. He’s been so exceptional, I’ve mentioned it in most of my articles (you just cannot just ignore greatness when it is happening right in front of your eyes). For Tom Brady, who many would consider being the savior of this Tampa Bay franchise, 43 is the number of touchdowns he has thrown this year. His three touchdowns only reinforce the 41-17 win to close out the season. Mr. Brady, we salute you.
I’m not gonna lie, Buccaneers fans have had it rough in the past decade. From mediocre teams that just weren’t good enough to make it into the playoffs, to quarterbacks that would just nearly bring us to the playoffs, but not quite. That’s why it is so refreshing to have Tom Brady, the greatest American Football player of all time on our time. Winning feels better than losing, I’ll tell you that much, and with Tom Brady as your QB, your most likely going to win.
This past Sunday was no different, as Tom Brady performed with a 130.4 quarterback passer rating and really went off against the Carolina Panthers. It’s not the Panther’s fault, it’s just that they got bested by a better team. Even Sam Darnold, who had been struggling of late this season, had a pretty decent game. Darnold would end up finishing the game with two touchdowns, 219 passing yards, and completing 29 of his 42 attempted passes. Still, his Panthers were no match for Brady and his aerial offense.
The man on the receiving end of Brady passes today was Rob Gronkowski, who caught 7 of his 10 targets and finished with a whopping 137 receiving yards. Mike Evans also had an absolutely excellent game, catching six passes for 89 yards. On the rushing side, Scotty Miller led the way with 2 carries for 43 yards. His 33-yard touchdown injected some life into the offense and delivered the momentum they needed to build off of.
With the blowout against the Panthers, the Buccaneers finished the season with a 13-4 record, clinching the NFC South and setting up a date with the Philadelphia Eagles in their first playoff game. The Eagles have just come off getting drubbed by the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, and they will likely need another “Philly Special” to take down Tom Brady, as they did in the 2018 Super Bowl.
The Buccaneers were surrounded by distractions this past season, but they managed to get through it all and come out as the winners of the NFC South. It is the second straight year that the Buccaneers are one of the favorites to capture the Super Bowl, and the second straight season this franchise has delivered world-class football to its fans. Heading into the playoffs this team should keep its head up and go to war, because there are some very good teams that can, and will, give us a run for our money.
With the Buccaneer Buckaroos, I am Michael Vidakis signing off and saying good luck to the Buccaneers. Tune in on Wednesday for my playoff preview article, where we look at some of the matchups of the upcoming NFL playoffs.