Before we clear the air about the 47-7 romp over the Detroit Lions, I would like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on making it to their first postseason since 2007. I understand you play your schedule no matter what happens. That being said, let’s put the playoff-clinching game into perspective, shall we?
It’s Detroit. They Are Who They Are.
The Lions are as depleted as a team can get. If you played a drinking game every time commentary mentioned “depletion”, you’d been passed out by the half. Chaos within the coaching staff translated to a lack of execution on the field. You can make the claim the Lions felt similar to the Bucs playing the New Orleans Saints at Raymond James Stadium in November in their 38-3 debacle.
One positive you can take is that the Buccaneers didn’t play down to their competition. That’s an important characteristic to have in the playoffs. The team should have taken advantage, needed the confidence booster in the quick start, and momentum to barrel through. It doesn’t get any easier from here even with an Atlanta Falcons team playing for pride. Yes, the same one that shutout the Buccaneers in the first half of their first matchup this year.
Time for the Buccaneers to Silence the Critics
Bruce Arians has yet to weigh on if he’d rather play the NFC East winner or the winner of the NFC West or NFC South. The critics who claim the Bucs will be one-and-done won’t be silent regardless of the result against the Falcons Sunday. Either way, the Buccaneers’ first playoff run in 13 seasons starts on the road. Time to finish strong if they don’t want to play the Saints or NFC West winner in the wildcard.
For more from Tom Chang, head over to Bucsreport.com.
