This team suddenly looked shockingly mortal just another squad in the league’s jumbled mess of parity.īut every good story arc needs conflict, and the 2021 Buccaneers weathered their storm and emerged on the other side unscathed. Injuries had begun to mount, the defense’s takeaways had started to dry up, and offensive turnovers were becoming a problem. But a three-week slump in the middle of the season-a stretch in which Tampa Bay sandwiched their Week 9 bye with a pair of losses to New Orleans and Washington, respectively-dampened expectations. Early in the year, the Buccaneers somehow looked like a more complete version of the team that had won it all last season, and as they raced out to a 6-1 record through the first seven weeks, it felt like an all-but lock that Tom Brady and Co.
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Arizona Cardinals (10-3) Tom Brady and the Buccaneers feel inevitable again.įor every team, the NFL season is filled with twists and turns. With 14 weeks in the books, here’s my updated Power Rankings. 4 while the Rams knocked off the Cardinals in a wild NFC West bout on Monday Night Football. The increasingly hot Chiefs beat the Raiders to move up to no.
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The Buccaneers jumped up into the top spot on my rankings with a big win over the Bills on Sunday, but the Packers (who beat the Bears) and Patriots (on bye) aren’t far behind.
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The cream continued to rise to the top in the NFL in Week 14, with the league’s upper-echelon squads further separating themselves from the rest of the pack.