Nothing has come easy for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season, and Sunday's win over the 49ers wasn't any different. It was, however, a little easier than we've seen things be so far this season even if things felt just as tense near the end.
Until Week 6, the Bucs hadn't played in a game that wasn't either one-score in the end or decided on the final drive of the game. That changed against San Francisco, despite Chase McLaughlin missing a kick that felt like the type of moment that would have given the Niners some life. Instead, Baker Mayfield once again carried the team on his back and willed what is the easiest win of the season so far -- a 30-19 victory over one of the best teams in the league.
The win not only further gives the Bucs confidence as potential Super Bowl contenders, it propelled them to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Regardless of the Detroit Lions result on Sunday Night Football, if the playoffs were to start today, the road to Super Bowl LX would go through Tampa Bay. Heading into Sunday the Niners had the No. 1 seed but ceded control of that over to the Bucs, which means Tampa Bay now controls its own destiny the rest of the season.
Buccaneers surge into the NFC's No. 1 seed with triumphant win over 49ers
Now, it's only Week 6 so we can't get too far ahead of ourselves but Sunday was yet another reason to believe in the Bucs in ways we didn't think were possible.
This has always been a good team ever since Baker Mayfield arrived, but it keeps feeling like the Bucs are evolving into their Final Boss form. The Monday night win in Houston was special, last week's win over Seattle was signature stuff, but the victory over San Francisco and snatching the No. 1 seed away is on a whole different level.
Baker Mayfield is playing like an MVP, the team is winning in spite of itself on certain levels (cough special teams cough) and expectations have been completely subverted. At every turn, where we've watched the Bucs falter before they're thriving and beating the best team in the NFC by two scores is the most emphatic triumph yet.
There's still a lot of season left to play, and some tough games on the schedule, but for the first time since the Tom Brady era there isn't a gentle hum of anxiety hanging over it all. Back-to-back seasons of midseason slumps will make skeptics out of even the most confident fan, but nothing the Bucs have done so far this year suggests they're anything other than a team of destiny at this point.
It's still too early to crown anyone a champion, but the Bucs are looking like Super Bowl favorites in ways we couldn't have imagined but will gladly rally behind.