Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Two years ago, Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers began their Super Bowl XXXVII title defense with a dominant, 17-0 road victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week One. It looked as if Tampa Bay would be the team to beat again.
Four months later, the Bucs finished that 2003 season with a 33-13 loss at Tennessee, sliding to 7-9. Gruden recalled things taking a turn for the worse as early as the very next week, when the Bucs lost a tight, hard-fought home game to Carolina, also losing Mike Alstott and Joe Jurevicius to injury on one play.
As pretty and pristine as 1-0 looks on the Bucs’ stat sheet, it doesn’t guarantee them anything. In fact, Tampa Bay won its season opener 12 times in its first 29 seasons, but went on to the playoffs in only five of those 12 years. Conversely, the Bucs were 0-1 after the first week of their eventual Super Bowl Championship season in 2002, and also after one week of the 1999 season that led to the NFC Championship Game. Half the teams in the league are 0-1 after the first week; you can’t simply right them off, obviously.
Now 2-0, that might mean something. And that’s why Sunday’s game against Buffalo is so important. The Bucs don’t want to give back what they have gained.
