National Football League

Are Tom Brady and the Buccaneers back on track to defend Super Bowl crown?

Updated Nov. 23, 2021 7:58 p.m. ET

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appeared to steer their wayward-sailing ship back in the right direction with a convincing 30-10 victory over the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.

It was a relieving return to winning ways after the squad dropped two consecutive affairs to opponents they were heavily favored to defeat — the New Orleans Saints and the injury-depleted Washington Football Team.

Monday night's contest also looked like a spirited resurgence from the team's resolute leader.

After back-to-back outings in which Tom Brady tossed two interceptions — the first time since Weeks 11 and 12 last season that he'd done so in consecutive games — he looked to be back in MVP form.

Brady torched the Big Blue secondary throughout the contest, and though he did relinquish an untimely giveaway (which may not have been entirely his fault), his night was as good as any he's had this season.

TB12 finished with 307 yards and two TDs on a 30-for-46 clip, and he mixed in a jolting first-down scamper for a little extra energizing fun to boot.

The win included virtually everything a head coach wants to see from his unit on a daily basis: Staunch defense, efficient offense and absolute domination in the time of possession category.

But nonetheless, it did come against the lowly Giants, who, at this point, are more concerned with acquiring a game-changing prospect in next year's draft than they are on postseason football.

And Shannon Sharpe believes that's exactly why people shouldn't put too much weight into the win as they make their projections for this year's Super Bowl.

"I thought they were going on a run after the bye week," Sharpe said about the squad on Tuesday's episode of "Undisputed."

"So now, they lose that game, but they beat a Giants team. The Giants' offensive line is bad. [The Bucs] had a three-man rush against five blockers, and Suh gets home. [The Giants] give their guys help [on one play], and the backup to the backup runs them over and gets a sack. It's really bad."

Sharpe revealed that Tampa was fourth in his power rankings following the Week 11 slate.

"Right now, I'll go Cardinals, Rams, Packers, Bucs, Cowboys. The Bucs are getting some pieces back. But I don't see what everyone else is seeing. Let's look at the next three games. They have the Colts this weekend. Maybe that will be the game that will convince me ‘OK they’re ready to take off again.' But I'm not ready to say that after watching them beat the Giants."

For Colin Cowherd, this year's rendition of the Bucs is no different than last year's.

"Last year, we kept waiting for it to click, then they had the bye, and beat a bunch of bad teams and we were like ‘yeah they’re great,'" Cowherd said Tuesday on "The Herd." "But their offense wasn't great. Really, their defense won the Super Bowl.

"This year, we said it's going to be a lot smoother for the Buccaneers. It's going to be different: We got the preseason, it's the second year, we got OTAs.

"And it's the exact same. Last year, Tampa averaged 29.5 points per game. This year, they average 31. They were 7-3 at this point last year. They allowed 22.6 points per game. This year, they're allowing 22.2, and their record is 7-3. It's the same team. Why wouldn't it be? They brought back all the same players and same coaches in the same division. All the inconsistencies are there this year. We keep waiting for them to burst through. Tampa's not that team. There is no higher ceiling. They'll only win in the postseason if Brady is magical."

Cowherd is right. Brady's generally been able to pull some magical feat of fantastical proportions from his back pocket. But no man's invincible, no matter how many laws of physics Brady's been able to defy.

The next few weeks will speak volumes to their postseason legitimacy. 

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