The Bucs didn’t need to wait until Super Bowl 60 to understand what separates playoff hopefuls from true contenders-they lived it firsthand. Their rollercoaster of a season offered a clear blueprint: the offense can go toe-to-toe with anyone, but the defense remains a work in progress, and until that changes, a return to the NFL’s biggest stage is more dream than destination.
Let’s rewind to Week 5, when Tampa Bay went into Seattle and outdueled the future NFC champions in a 38-35 thriller. That win-arguably their most impressive of the year-came without several key starters: wide receiver Mike Evans, rookie running back Bucky Irving, and starting linemen Cody Mauch and Luke Goedeke.
And yet, the offense didn’t miss a beat. It was a shootout from start to finish, and the Bucs proved they could hang with the best, even while shorthanded.
That game was more than just a win-it was a statement. Baker Mayfield was nearly flawless, completing 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a passer rating of 134.7.
On the other side, Sam Darnold was just as sharp, throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns with only one pick. These weren’t just good performances-they were the kind of games that remind you why both quarterbacks were once top-three draft picks.
And here’s the twist: both Mayfield and Darnold had been teammates briefly with the Panthers in 2022. Fast forward to 2026, and it’s Darnold who becomes the first quarterback from that stacked 2018 draft class to reach a Super Bowl.
That class included Mayfield (No. 1 overall), Darnold (No. 3), Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Josh Rosen.
Jackson and Allen have MVPs. Darnold, though, is the one playing for a ring.
Back to that Week 5 showdown-Seattle’s offense was surgical, scoring touchdowns on five straight possessions. The Bucs nearly matched them, scoring on four of five.
But the biggest difference? Tampa Bay’s offensive line, a patchwork group protecting Mayfield against a front led by Pro Bowler Leonard Williams, didn’t allow a single sack on 33 dropbacks.
That’s no small feat.
“Honestly, it was all based on the guys up front blocking their tails off,” Mayfield said after the game. “If you handle Leonard Williams up front, it starts to make him really, really angry.
Then the whole (Seattle) team starts talking to each other. And that was really the difference.”
The Bucs fed off that frustration. Williams eventually drew a personal foul, and Tampa Bay kept the pressure on.
Mayfield, playing through a lingering knee injury from Week 2, delivered his best performance of the season. Rookie Emeka Egbuka, playing close to home, had a breakout game: seven catches, 163 yards, and a touchdown.
With just over a minute left, Mayfield tied the game with an 11-yard strike to Sterling Shepard. Given how the Bucs defense had played, it felt inevitable that Darnold would drive Seattle into field goal range. Tampa Bay hadn’t sacked him all day and had struggled to generate pressure.
But then came the moment Todd Bowles had been waiting for. The Bucs head coach dialed up a blitz he’d kept in his back pocket, sending safety Antoine Winfield Jr. off the edge. Darnold got the throw off under pressure, but defensive lineman Logan Hall tipped it, and veteran linebacker Lavonte David came down with the interception.
“We were saving that blitz for a rainy day, and we brought it out,” Bowles said. “Everybody was waiting on it, and it finally came. For our leader to step up and make that play was huge.”
That turnover set up Chase McLaughlin’s game-winning 39-yard field goal. It was a defining moment for the Bucs-one that suggested they might be turning a corner.
And for a while, it looked like they had. The next week, they beat the 49ers 30-19 to improve to 5-1. Even after a 24-9 loss to the Lions, they bounced back with a dominant 23-3 win in New Orleans, their best defensive showing of the season.
But the turning point came after the bye week, when they hosted the Patriots. New England, under new head coach Mike Vrabel, had clawed its way to the top of the AFC East after back-to-back 4-13 seasons. And in that game, Tampa Bay’s defense completely unraveled.
The Patriots gashed them with explosive plays: touchdown runs of 69 and 55 yards from TreVeyon Henderson, and a 72-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Drake Maye to Kyle Williams. Notre Dame rookie corner Benjamin Morrison was on the wrong end of that play, then followed it up with a costly pass interference penalty.
By that point, the Bucs were battered. Evans, Irving, Chris Godwin, and two starting offensive linemen were sidelined.
Defenses had begun to take away the deep passing game that had thrived in Seattle. The offense sputtered, and the defense couldn’t hold the line.
Tampa Bay would go on to win just two more games over the final nine weeks, finishing 8-9 and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Meanwhile, the Seahawks didn’t let that Week 5 loss define them. They rebounded in a big way, winning 13 of their next 14 games, locking up the NFC, and earning a trip to the Super Bowl.
Their defense, which had been carved up by Mayfield, tightened up down the stretch. They finished the regular season with 47 sacks, tied for eighth in the NFL.
Leonard Williams and cornerback Byron Murphy II each tallied seven sacks.
Offensively, Jaxon Smith-Njigba-Egbuka’s former Ohio State teammate-emerged as a star, racking up 1,793 receiving yards, 119 receptions, and 10 touchdowns. He’s now the favorite for NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
For the Bucs, the takeaway is clear: the offense, when healthy, has the firepower to compete with anyone. But the defense?
That’s where the rebuild needs to start. Until they can consistently get stops, limit big plays, and generate pressure, they’ll stay stuck in the tier just below true contention.
Bowles said it best after that Seattle win: “We’re finally playing 59 and 60 minutes. We’ve got to keep stacking them. They’re hard to come by.”
The Bucs stacked a few. But not enough. And in this league, that’s the difference between watching the Super Bowl and playing in it.