The Tampa Bay Buccaneers returned three key players this offseason, retaining Baker Mayfield, Mike Evans and Antoine Winfield Jr. They're running things back after going 9-8 a season ago, making the playoffs and even finding a postseason victory in the Wild Card Round.
After a third straight NFC South title, what do the Buccaneers' expectations look like in 2024? What would make the season a success?
The Draft Network's Justin Melo broke down what would make the Buccaneer's 2024 season a success. The answer was quite simple: prove their 2023 nine-win campaign was legitimate.
"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enjoyed a successful season in 2023. The Buccaneers went 9-8, won their third consecutive NFC South title, and even won a playoff game, defeating the defending NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles 32-9 in the wild-card round. Making the playoffs for a fourth consecutive campaign will be the expectation in 2024," Melo wrote.
While some claim the Buccaneers' 2023 campaign was flukey, it seems it could be replicable to some extent. It might not happen in the same way, but Tampa Bay could very well be a threat to be a double-digit win team.
From Week 6 to Week 12, the Buccaneers posted a 1-6 record. The midseason struggle is something the Buccaneers shouldn't face again. Had they evened out that midseason skid, going 3-4 in that span, they're a 12-win team. After a strong start and finish to the season, there's proof that the current core of players can play winning football.
With continuity returning key players from last year's run, the Buccaneers should be able to make slight improvements — even with the team losing offensive coordinator Dave Canales to the Carolina Panthers.
A lot will ride on whether Mayfield can emulate his success from his 2023 campaign, but it certainly seems as if the Buccaneers can very easily compete for another NFC South title in 2024.
"The Buccaneers wrote one of the league’s more heartwarming stories last season by surpassing expectations. All parties involved are now tasked with proving it was no one-off. A successful 2024 Buccaneers campaign means showing everyone that 2023 was no fluke," Melo continued.
Having the expectation of simply being as good as the year before bodes quite well for Tampa Bay as they look to navigate this new, post-Tom Brady era.
