2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Defense Wins Championships

2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Defense Wins Championships

[paypal_donation_button]2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Defense Wins Championships

Under head coach Tony Dungy, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers built one of the best defenses in the NFL. In 1997, in only Dungy’s second year as head coach, he guided the Buccaneers to a 10-6 record and the franchise’s first playoff win in 15 years. The Bucs would build on this success two years later when they finished 11-5 and played the St. Louis Rams in the NFC Championship game. Their tough defense held “The Greatest Show on Turf” to only 11 points, but the Bucs could only muster 6 points in the loss. The two years that followed included two more trips to the postseason. Both trips ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round. In both losses, the Bucs failed to score in double digits falling 21-3 in 2000 and 31-9 in 2001. It was a story the Bucs had become all too familiar with: the defense was good, but not good enough to carry a below average offense. After six years and building a playoff contender, the Bucs decided to move on from Tony Dungy before the 2002 season.

Tampa Bay hired Jon Gruden hoping he would awaken the offense. After scoring 388 points in 2000 and 324 in 2001, Gruden didn’t make much of a mark in 2002. The offense scored 346 points in Gruden’s first year as head coach. Although the offense only scored 21.6 points per game, Tampa Bay ranked second in the league in point differential. They outscored opponents by an average of 9.4 points per game thanks to their defense. The Bucs defense allowed only 196 points all season long. Opposing teams averaged 12.2 points per game as the Bucs finished the season on top of the NFC South Division with a 12-4 record.

The Bucs offense wasn’t completely void of playmakers. Brad Johnson efficiently completed 62% of his passes for 3049 yards and 22 touchdowns. More importantly, he only threw 6 interceptions all year. Keyshawn Johnson had 76 receptions and 1088 yards receiving. Mike Alstott and Michael Pittman led the backfield and gained 200 more yards on the ground than the Bucs did the year before.

The offense didn’t improve much, but the Bucs defense made the leap from being a very good to an amazing defense. They allowed 5 points less per game and led the league in interceptions with 31. The Bucs boasted the best pass defense allowing only 2490 yards passing and 10 passing touchdowns. The defense was led by Defensive Player of the Year, Derrick Brooks. He led the team with 87 tackles. Brooks also returned 3 of his 5 interceptions for touchdowns. The Bucs’ defensive line was anchored by Simeon Rice and Warren Sapp. Rice led the team with 15.5 sacks and Sapp added 7.5 sacks of his own. The hard hitting John Lynch patrolled the secondary for the Bucs. His work in pass defense earned him an invitation to the Pro Bowl.

The Bucs punctuated their regular season with a 15-0 win against the Chicago Bears in Week 17. Their dominance would continue in the divisional round against the San Francisco 49ers. Fresh of a dramatic comeback win in the previous week, the 49ers were man handled by the Bucs 21-6. The win arranged a matchup in the NFC Championship game against a familiar foe, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and it looked like their third meeting would end the same way as the previous two. After that first score, the defense tightened their grip and the offense rose to the challenge. Keyshawn Johnson and Mike Alstott each scored a touchdown to add to Martin Gramatica’s two field goals. Ronde Barber put the finishing touches with a 92-yard interception he returned for a touchdown as the Bucs slayed their playoff nemesis to advance to the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

In Super Bowl XXXVII, the Tampa Bay defense was the star. The Bucs defense held the highly touted Raiders offense, led by MVP Rich Gannon and future Hall of Fame wide receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice, to 11 first downs and 6 receptions. Gannon was intercepted 5 times and the Bucs returned three interceptions for touchdowns on their way to a 48-21 victory. Upon accepting the Lombardi trophy, Jon Gruden made sure he thanked the man who laid the foundation for the Super Bowl win, Tony Dungy.