TAMPA — When you’ve won the NFC South four years running, and the core of your team is back in a less-than-fearsome division, it’s no great leap to view the Tampa Bay Bucs as favorites to win a fifth straight title this season. But here’s the burning question heading into 2025: Can they bust out of the Wild Card bracket and take it to the next level?

That, of course, remains to be seen with a long road ahead and an early schedule that includes three division champs. Yet from a sheer talent and continuity perspective, this edition of the Bucs has the weapons and experience to go deeper in the playoffs under head coach Todd Bowles — after two Wild Card eliminations in the last three seasons – and hold their own against Philadelphia, Detroit, Washington and other established elite teams.

But before we go any farther, please join me for a little spin in the Buccaneer Wayback Machine.

I’ve seen this team up close for many years – serving as one of the first Bucs beat writers for the Tampa Bay (then St. Petersburg) Times in the bad old days of the early 1980s under head coach John McKay; and later chronicling the unfortunate departure of quarterback Doug Williams in a contract dispute, after he led the young Bucs to three playoff berths in four seasons. Well, it was fortunate for Williams, who eventually became a D.C. area legend after winning Super Bowl XXII, while the Bucs stumbled through the wilderness of 14 straight losing seasons.

I survived the Leeman Bennett era of back-to-back 2-14 seasons. It began on a hopeful note with the signing of USFL star Steve Young (whom I managed to intercept at the airport upon his arrival from LA with super-agent Leigh Steinberg for contract talks, driving them to their hotel in my beat-up Sentra to get a jump on the story). But Young languished as a backup behind Steve DeBerg before finally earning the starting job and spending NFL Sundays running for his life. Mercifully for Young, new head coach Ray Perkins traded him to San Francisco – the gift of a lifetime for the future Super Bowl winner and Hall of Famer.

I profiled Vinny Testaverde on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1987 with the now laughably dated all-caps headline “THE NFL’s $8 MILLION MAN” – a grand entrance that quickly gave way to Testaverde’s struggles under the steely-eyed and short-lived reign of Perkins.

I returned after a long editing and feature-writing stint, and a run as an SI regular contributor, to be part of the Times’ coverage team. I missed reporting on the first Super Bowl win but caught Jon Gruden's unraveling and the brief head coach tenure of Raheem Morris. And then I did a third tour covering the Bucs as lead writer for Fox Sports Florida to witness the forgettable regime of Greg Schiano, whose bossy, by-the-book college style did not sit well with pro football players.

So let’s just say I’ve seen enough bad Bucs teams in my life to know when I see an especially good one. 

And that is what this group is – poised to improve on their 10-7 record and their four consecutive division titles – if they live up to their potential and avoid costly injuries. As the deep-cover man of the Bucs for Roundtable Sports, I’m intrigued to see what happens this year – and look forward to bringing you my thoughts, analysis, and related stories as the season unfolds.

Yes, quarterback Baker Mayfield will have to adjust to his third offensive coordinator in three seasons, with Josh Grizzard taking over play-calling duties for Liam Coen, now head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. But Grizzard impressed everyone with his touch as pass-game coordinator last season and Mayfield is coming off a banner season in which he finished second in the NFL in touchdowns (41), third in passing yards (4,500), and fourth in quarterback rating (106.8). The one blemish to smooth out: his 16 interceptions, tied with Kirk Cousins for most in the league.

Nobody is happier than Mayfield at the news this week that the team has sealed a four-year, $90 million contract extension with right tackle Luke Goedeke, who was scheduled for free agency after the season. Coupled with the five-year extension given All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs last year, this provides Mayfield with first-class bodyguards through the 2029 season. 

Coming off his best season as a pro, Mayfield leads an offense with the potential to be among the NFL’s most explosive, with a revved-up running attack led by 2024 rookie sensation Bucky Irving (the highest-graded rookie by Pro Football Focus after rushing for 1,122 yards and eight TDs) and what looks like the league’s best receiving corps when healthy.

So let’s talk injuries and opponents heading into Sunday’s opener on the road against division foe Atlanta. Given the opponents in the first seven games, getting off to a fast start is a must to generate confidence and momentum. And the Bucs will have to do that in games that include:

• Week Two: a Monday night clash at with reigning AFC South title-winner Houston.

• Week Three: a far lesser threat with the Raymond James Stadium opener against the hapless New York Jets (who haven’t had a winning season since 2015).

• Week Four: a home showdown against the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

• Week Five: on the road at Seattle, led by the one of the league’s top defenses.

• Week Six: a home contest against a San Francisco team eager to bounce back from a disastrous 2024.

• Week Seven: Another Monday night on the road, this time against the Detroit Lions, who have morphed into one of the NFL’s top squads with 15 wins last year

The challenge is heightened given injuries to key players. There’s Wirfs (the first player in NFL history to earn All-Pro honors on both the left and right side in different seasons) coming off of arthroscopic knee surgery and expected to miss the first few games. There's playmaking wideout Chris Godwin, still recovering from an ankle injury that ended his 2024 season. And then second-year wideout Jalen McMillan, who made a major splash last year with seven touchdowns in the final five games. He's on injured reserve with a bad neck sprain and facing the possibility of an extended absence.

Enter rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka, the Bucs’ first-round pick out of Ohio State. Egbuka, with the power and burst of a running back, has a chance to make an impact as a stand-in for Godwin and McMillan and as a complement to 32-year-old Mike Evans, who heads into his 12th NFL season on a glide path to Canton immortality.

If Egbuka fulfills the expectations placed upon him – and his preseason only raised the level of anticipation – he can establish himself as a pass-catching and playmaking presence, give Evans room to make his own brand of magic (angling now to become the first player in NFL history with 12 straight 1,000 receiving-yard seasons), and help the Bucs build an early foundation for 2025. And when Godwin and McMillan return to the field, this becomes a receiving contingent that can strike fear in the heart of any defense.

Speaking of which, the Bucs will look to veteran nose tackle Vita Vea to anchor their 13th-ranked run defense, and hope for pass-rush pressure from the defensive line as a unit, bookended by Logan Hall on the right side and Calijah Kancy on the left. Linebacker Lavonte David remains a fixture in the middle of the defense, back for his 12th season with the team after starting all 17 games in 2024 and leading the Bucs in tackles with 122. A new face to watch is outside linebacker Haason Reddick, a nine-year veteran acquired in the offseason after a holdout-shortened season with the New York Jets. Reddick could add some punch to the outside pass rush. 

The secondary has proved vulnerable — 29th against the pass in 2024.  The team will look to All-Pro strong safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and second-year free safety Tykee Smith to hold down the middle of the secondary, with Jamel Dean at left corner, Zyon McCollum on the right side and Jacob Parrish and Christian Izien vying for nickel back duties. 

The Bucs are in good hands with the right foot of placekicker Chase McLaughlin, who has made 59 of 63 field goals in the past two seasons – a 93.7 percent accuracy rate that is best in the NFL over that span.

All in all, the Bucs have the goods to lock down the NFC South again. But if the pieces fall into place, the goal of going deeper is within reach.

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