Bucs Earn Spot In NFC Playoffs With Win Over Lions

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are headed back to the postseason for the first time since 2007, giving the team a chance to pursue a second championship to pair with their Super Bowl XXXVII victory after the 2002 season, reported Bucs senior editor Scott Smith.

The Buccaneers earned a spot in the NFC playoffs Saturday with a 47-7 victory over the Detroit Lions. That gave the Bucs a 10-5 record with one game remaining at home against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.

With that win, Smith said the Bucs became the fourth team in the conference to claim one of the seven available playoff spots. The Bucs also moved closer to securing the top Wild Card spot and the fifth overall seed, leading to the first-round matchup with the winner of the NFC East if the Bucs can beat the Falcons in Week 17.

The Buccaneers' potential return to the playoffs comes after signing Tom Brady to lead the team's offense in March.

Brady won six Super Bowl rings and went to nine championship games over 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.

According to the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, this marks the 11th time that the Buccaneers have qualified for the postseason. The franchise made it to the playoffs for the first time in 1979 and again in 1981, 1999 and 2002.

The Buccaneers last made it to the playoffs in 2005 and 2007, both times as the NFC South champion.

News of the Bucs' chances in the playoffs comes as excitement builds over Super Bowl LV, scheduled to take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Feb. 7. Hopes are high that the Bucs will be among the contenders on game day, although an NFL team have never played a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

Fans are placing their hopes on this year's lineup. In addition to future Hall of Fame quarterback Brady, the Bucs lured Brady's Patriots buddy Rob Gronkowski to Tampa along with veteran running back LeSean McCoy, former Jaguars’ running back Leonard Fournette, who is coming off a 1,000-yard season and first-rounder quarterback Josh Rosen.

Add to roster wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, tight ends O.J. Howard and Cam Brate, and third-year Buccaneer Ronald Jones and Tristan Wirfs, and Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht said the Bucs have what it takes to make it to the Super Bowl.

This year will be the third time a Super Bowl has taken place at Raymond James Stadium and the fifth time the Super Bowl has taken place in Tampa.

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• Tom Brady Is Tampa Bay Buccaneers New Quarterback: Report