Buccaneers: You can’t win a Super Bowl without an elite Quarterback

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have their quarterback in place

There’s an adage about the current landscape of the NFL that certainly applies to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Either you have a quarterback and you’re relevant, or you don’t and you’re not.

There’s little room for any in-between.

The Buccaneers brought in QB Tom Brady on a two-year deal worth $50 million just a couple of months ago and since that point, they’ve become the hottest team in the league.

The Buccaneers went- basically overnight- from a team that most considered to be an afterthought to legitimate competitors for the postseason and beyond. Why? Because of the addition of Brady.

You can’t win a Super Bowl without an elite QB

There are a few exceptions to this rule, but the overarching truth is that a team doesn’t win a Super Bowl without superb quarterback play. Here’s a look at the past Super Bowl winning quarterbacks of the last decade:

• 2010: Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers)
• 2011: Eli Manning (New York Giants)
• 2012: Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens)
• 2013: Russell Wilson (Seattle Seahawks)
• 2014: Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
• 2015: Peyton Manning (Denver Broncos)
• 2016: Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
• 2017: Nick Foles (Philadelphia Eagles)
• 2018: Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
• 2019: Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)

Outside of Foles- who still threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns- that’s a pretty solid list of quarterbacks. Of course, Peyton Manning was past his prime when he won with the Broncos, but you still can’t argue the simple fact that these teams won, in major part, because of the performances of their quarterbacks- not just in the Super Bowl but in the entirety of the season.

Out of this group, only three QBs weren’t named the MVP of the Super Bowl (Wilson in 2013, Manning in 2015 and Brady in 2018) and that’s because it’s the most important position on the field.

As we head into the 2020 season for the Buccaneers, it’s clear that the success of the franchise will rest squarely on the shoulders of Tom Brady.

Either you have a quarterback and you’re relevant, or you don’t and you’re not. Luckily for the Bucs, they have a six-time Super Bowl winner who is more motivated to win than ever.