Welcome to FanSided’s 2022 NFL preview! It’s time to look into our crystal football and take a glimpse at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers season prediction.

Last year didn’t go the way anyone in Tampa Bay hoped or expected.

Tom Brady and every other starter of the Super Bowl winning team returned to the game. However, after the honeymoon period ended and everyone settled in, the house started falling apart.

Rather than ride off into the sunset with another ring, Tom Brady’s season ended with him clawing back in a playoff brawl against the Rams — one that ended in defeat. It’s rare to see Brady fall, but it’s naive to think that it isn’t possible. Last year was sobering for the Buccaneers, but with Tom Brady unexpectedly deciding to run it back at least one more time, there’s a buzz of excitement around Tampa Bay heading into the 2022 season.

The 2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season in review13-4 recordLost in NFC Divisional Round, Rams The highs were quite impressive: In overtime, Tom Brady beat the Patriots in a thrilling game at Foxborough, while the offense scored more than 30 points eleven times, including a Wild Card victory over the Eagles.

The lows were still very sobering. After being shut out on national TV by the Saints and Antonio Brown leaving in the middle of the game, a defensive call was made that resulted in the Bucs’ season ending in Divisional Round.

Last year was strange. This year isn’t lining up to be any more normal.

For a few moments more, you’ll see that there was more to love than hate about last year. The Buccaneers were not far from winning the game despite being on the wrong side of any breaks. Tampa Bay almost won that Divisional round game after coming back from a deficit of nearly two-digits. This was a grittiness which helped them win Super Bowl in 2012. It seems that this is the Tom Brady era’s third year.

Although the Bucs were defeated by the Saints once again, and they lost a game against the Commanders, Ron Rivera accomplished something no other team has done by beating Tom Brady by refusing him the ball during the fourth quarter, it was still a great learning experience.

That’s how last year should be viewed, as the Bucs are once again in a position to run it back and this time take it a little but further than they were able to the year prior.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Draft class 2022Rd 2: Logan Hall, DT/HoustonRd 2: Luke Goedeke, OG/Central MichiganRd 3: Rachaad White, RB/Arizona StateRd 4: Cade Otton, TE/ WashingtonRd 4: Jake Camarda, P/GeorgiaRd 5: Zyon McCollum, CB/Sam Houston StateRd 6: Ko Kieft, TE/MinnesotaRd 7: Andre Anthony, OLB/LSUNothing about the Buccaneers draft class lit the world on fire, but it didn’t really have to. If there’s one thing that Jason Licht has proven over both the course of his career and his time in Tampa Bay, it’s that he knows how to mine for gold in April.

After many years of hard work, the Bucs won the Super Bowl. This was due to the talent and leadership that Licht identified over the past half decade. Many of the foundations needed to win another championship were also placed by him. So while it’s easy to cringe at Tampa Bay trading out of a position to draft Chiefs rookie standout George Karlaftis just to draft Logan Hall a few picks later, remember that Licht has built up enough credit for everyone to trust the process.

There have been many misses and swings throughout the years. Most notably Jameis Winston, Ronald Jones II and a kicker who will remain anonymous. But Licht often learns from these failures. Winston turned into Tom Brady, Jones II’s replacement is Arizona State sparkplug Rachaad White, and despite misses like Roberto Aguayo there was enough draft success to build a team that attracted the greatest quarterback to every play the game.

Luke Goedeke is going to get a baptism by fire on a banged-up offensive line, and Zyon McCollum could be a steal along the lines of Sean Murphy-Bunting in the Bucs secondary. White can make amends for Ronald Jones’ sins, and Logan Hall could be a part of a young and revitalized defensive line with Joe Tryon-Shoyinka screaming from the edge and Vita Vea at its anchor.

Previewing Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense for 2022 seasonKey offseason additionsShaq Mason, OGJulio Jones, WRRussell Gage, WRBiggest X-Factor: Tom BradySqueakiest Wheel: Offensive LineLosing Rob Gronkowski hurts in that Tom Brady’s safety net is gone (we’ll get to his actual safety net in a second). It was the Oscar to Felix that made him feel secure. That’s gone, and hopefully, the Buccaneers don’t watch what happened to the 2019 New England Patriots happen to them. That’s the last time Brady played without Gronk in his offense and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Granted, Brady’s non-Gronk weapons are infinitely better than what he had in 2019.

He still has Mike Evans, who hasn’t gone under 1,000 yards or caught fewer than 8 touchdowns his entire career and should be getting Chris Godwin back to full strength by the middle of the season (and should have him in the lineup well before then). Add to that the addition of Russell Gage and Julio Jones and all of a sudden things aren’t looking so bleak.

However, injuries can make this a reality. Antonio Brown’s shirtless antics will be a lasting image of last season for the Bucs but it came about thanks to injuries. Godwin was injured in the ACL and the rest of the offense was unable to play throughout the year. Brown also blamed an injury to his ankle for his loss of mind against the Jets.

We’re already seeing that with the utter destruction of healthy bodies along the Bucs offensive front. Ryan Jensen is lost for most if not all of the season and was the anchor of Brady’s protection. Although trading for Shaq Lawson was meant to compensate the loss of Ali Marpet, the Bucs are now down two centers and have already suffered an injury scare from Tristan Wirfs. No matter who Brady’s weapons are, Brady needs time to throw or nothing else really matters.

When he returned to training camp in August, amid drama surrounding his lengthy absence, Brady quipped that he’s 45 years old and that there’s “a lot of shit to deal with”, which couldn’t be a better way to describe how thin the razor’s edge is that he and the Buccaneers offense is walking in 2022.

Previewing Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense for 2022 seasonKey offseason additionsKeanu Neal, SCarl Nassib, DEAkiem Hicks, DTBiggest X-Factor: Vita Vea, DTSqueakiest Wheel: The SecondaryThe defense suffered some key losses in the offseason, however, and it remains to be seen what effect they might have. Richard Sherman was more of spiritual signing, as he rarely played any snaps with the Bucs. Jason Pierre-Paul & Ndamukong Sueh are both gone, and that leaves major holes in the defense line. The return of Carl Nassib, the signing of Akiem Hicks, and (hopefully) a full season of Vita Vea will offset those losses, as should the additions of Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal to replace Jordan Whitehead as Antonie Winfield Jr’s co-pilot at safety.

It’s that secondary that could be the Achilles heel for the Bucs, as it has been so many times before. Even though the Buccaneers had an historically strong defensive year in 2020, it was still the second-best wheel. Blitzing to Todd Bowles is like cookies to Cookie Monster, and it’s a flaw in his schemes that hasn’t changed at all. It’s high-reward, winning the Buccaneers a Super Bowl by beating the living hell out of Patrick Mahomes, but it’s high-risk too as displayed by a zero blitz allowing the Rams to gain over 40-yards on a single play and set up a season-ending loss for Tampa Bay in the NFC Divisional Round last year.

The BUccaneers are the NFL’s best defensive team. But there’s a lot that can go wrong and it’s a house of cards that is one bad blitz away from being totally destroyed — something that didn’t change this offseason.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaching staff overviewHead Coach: Todd BowlesOff. Coordinator: Byron LeftwichDef. Coordinator: N/A2023 Head Coach Candidate: Byron LeftwichSomehow the Buccaneers managed to return every single member of Bruce Arians’ coaching staff — except the man himself. In March, Arians abruptly resigned as head coach. Todd Bowles took over his duties.

It sounds a lot more chaotic than it really was. Bowles, Arians’ closest coach friends, was always a great friend and a loyal coach. Instead of leaving Bowles vulnerable to failure after 2022, he partnered with Tom Brady to create a Super Bowl-caliber football team. The move is remarkable when you consider how poor minority coaches are treated within a predominantly white NFL coaching group.

Beyond the sociopolitical aspects of the move, there’s also the football element to consider.

Bowles will continue to be the defensive coordinator, which could cause problems. This could be more to do with Arians’ timing, but it places pressure on Bowles in ways which could hinder his success. That being said, Bowles managed to find ways to succeed with the New York Jets, and he’s in a far better position to succeed now.

Arians might be gone but his major coaching team, which won a Super Bowl less that two years ago, remains.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards WatchTom Brady, MVPLet’s not spend this whole blurb talking about obvious it is that Tom Brady is in consideration for MVP. Let’s instead marvel at the fact that he’s still in the conversation despite the fact that he started his career before iPhones were invented and took his first snap while we still needed CD-ROM discs to access the internet.

Tom Brady is old, but he’s not getting any worse. He’s frustratingly youthful, and his misses are still few and far between.

Last year didn’t go nearly as well as anyone in Tampa Bay wanted and there were some pretty aggressive failures. It is a bit strange that people were arguing Brady was robbed of MVP. This is because athletes almost always fall to the heavyweight Father Time bears on their careers.

Brady may be 45, but he is in this season with a fire. His season was overturned and his chance at riding off into the sunset stifled. But his retirement was also spoiled before he could have his moment. Brady is back, and while offseason clicks were attained through huffing the fumes of drama surrounding his absence from camp or his apparent desire to leave the Buccaneers, it’s extremely stupid to bet against him until he gives everyone a legitimate reason. He’s the Jess screaming He Can’t Keep Getting Away With It meme if it were a Hall of Fame quarterback, and he’s been given ample reasons to perhaps finish his career with one of the best seasons he’s ever played.

Lavonte David, Defensive Player Of The YearThis one is a long shot, but it’s a satisfying narrative to think about.

David is the Buccaneers’ Gerald McCoy in terms of legacy. Despite being an elite player, he was still a victim of poor years. While the Buccaneers Super Bowl was all about Tom Brady, it was also the culmination for David of a journey that saw him rewarded in ways we didn’t expect in Tampa Bay.

As we approach the end of the Brady Era in 2020, David could experience the same triumph as Brady. He’s leading a defense in which he’s the elder statesman. Devin White is what David was when he came into his own in Tampa Bay and it won’t be long before the defense truly belongs to him (if it doesn’t already). David will have a chance to plant his flag and lead a unit that will need to support its weight if the Bucs win a third Super Bowl. This is especially true with Todd Bowles taking control of the entire operation and splitting his time between being the head coach and running the defense.

David was able to step into a leadership position many years ago. He felt liberated from the pain of all the losing. What he can do this year is solidify himself as one of the best defensive players in the entire league — less a reintroduction than a reminder that there are two GOATs in Tampa and they play on opposite sides of the ball.

This is the biggest game on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule. It’s a bit of a copout. However, the Buccaneers most difficult game is actually a series of hard games.

Tampa Bay is going to be put thrown into a snake pit to start the season, and it’s going to both test the team and tell us a lot about how this season is going to go.

Here’s the Bucs first four games of the season:

at Dallasat New Orleanshome against the Packershome against the ChiefsThere’s a very real chance that the Buccaneers start the season 0-4 and the national media is feasting on their supposed carcass. You can see the First Take segments now, and hear the Colin Cowherd or Skip Bayless rants in your head.

The first thing we will learn about the Buccaneers is their team. They’ll either show up and remind everyone that they’re a Super Bowl contender that can hang with the best in the league because they are the best in the league, or they’re going to get humbled and use that as fuel to make everyone that crosses their path pay the ultimate price.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers season prediction. The best case scenario. If all goes according to plan, the Buccaneers will win this year’s Super Bowl.

The NFC isn’t exactly stacked with immovable objects, and the Buccaneers don’t need a ton of breaks to go their way in order to be in the position they were last year. Had Tampa Bay beaten the Rams there’s a very legitimate chance they roll through the 49ers and Bengals to win another Super Bowl. It was fate that intervened.

What stands in the Bucs way this year is a Rams team that could suffer a Super Bowl hangover, a Packers squad that with Allen Lazard as Aaron Rodgers’ No. The Cowboys have no offensive line and the Cowboys have everyone else.

It’s not exactly Bruce Lee and Game of Death; the Bucs just need to play up to their standards to be in a position to return to the Super Bowl. They can easily hang with any other league player if they do that (they defeated the Bills and embarrassed the Chiefs in Super Bowl), so the declaration also includes the AFC and its elite group.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers season prediction – Worst-case scenario. Since Tom Brady’s return in 2020, it feels like the Buccaneers are constantly imagining the worst. He’s managed to somehow get better despite getting older but on a long enough timeline even the GOAT falls off.

That’s what everyone assumed would happen when he left New England, but now more than ever it seems folks are betting on it happening in 2022. This entire operation is dependent on Tom Brady’s success.

If what happened to Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger finally happens to Brady — in which they simply lose the ability to throw the ball as magically as they used to — it’s all over. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean that Brady himself is the reason for the decline, as injuries can play a factor as well.

Chris Godwin’s absence last year was enormous, and all it takes is someone like Mike Evans or Devin White to go down for the season to come crashing with it. We’re already seeing it with the devastation of the offensive line. Ryan Jensen missing most if not all of the season is huge, and Tristan Wirfs is flirting with injury disaster based on how his season ended last year and how it’s gone in training camp. Brady wasn’t the most mobile quarterback even in his prime, and the last thing the Buccaneers need is a 45-year-old man running for his life trying to throw the ball.

There are many outside factors that can put pressure on how perfect things should be for the Bucs. The Saints are the Thanos to all that is joyous about the Brady era. The Buccaneers have beaten the Saints once since Tom Brady arrived and haven’t come close to beating them in the regular season. New Orleans improved this offseason and could easily win the NFC South. Aaron Rodgers can be a dangerous bet. The Cowboys might figure it out. Teams like the Cardinals or Vikings could do a Bengals-esque turnaround and ruin everything.

There is very little room for error. This season could see the BUccaneers lifting another Lombardi trophy. However, they could also limp into the playoffs, ending the Tom Brady era.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers season prediction 202212-5 record1st in NFC SouthPlayoff predictions: Reach Super Bowl LVIReaching Super Bowl LVI is the goal for the Buccaneers, assuming everything goes well. The Buccaneers’ first half of the season will be difficult.

It’s very easy to see Tampa Bay starting the season 1-3, with losses to the Packers, Chiefs, and Saints (who Tom Brady remains winless against in the regular season). That sort of humbling at the beginning of the season — as opposed to the end — is the type of thing that could set the Bucs straight and put them and Brady on a war path to prove everyone who has already written them off wrong.

It’s up to you to see how that turns out. It could end with Brady retiring after winning his eighth Super Bowl with the maximum amount of f-you energy he’s ever had or it could end with a whimper and reignite rumors that Brady will want to try and win one more Super Bowl somewhere like Miami or San Francisco.

This Bucs team is, despite all the drama and offseason drama, outstanding. Brady was in MVP form last we saw him, Chris Godwin should be healthy for the playoff push, Julio Jones was added to the mix, Vita Vea and Devin White anchor a defense that is among the league’s best and the competition in the NFC isn’t exactly stout. This team is a blow away from being in a position that could beat the Rams and potentially on the path of another Super Bowl. That bitter taste won’t sit well with a team that all of a sudden has a chip on its shoulder.

Read more from FanSided’s 2022 NFL Preview here. You can find more Tampa Bay Buccaneers coverage at The Pewter Plank. 

The post Prediction for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season: The best and worst scenario for 2022 first appeared on Raw News.