You’d have to go all the way back to the 2007 NFL season for the last time the Buccaneers reached the playoffs.
Nick Wright believes this postseason drought will continue in the upcoming campaign, even though arguably the greatest quarterback of all time now is under center in Tampa Bay.
Other pundits and fans alike might tell you the Bucs are a lock for the 2020 playoffs, especially considering the field has been expanded. After all, Tampa Bay flirted with a playoff berth last season with the wildly inconsistent Jameis Winston at quarterback.
But even with Brady, as well as Rob Gronkowski, in the fold in Central Florida, Wright believes a fairly harsh run of games in the middle of the slate will nix the Bucs’ chances at playing football in January.
“A team not in the playoffs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Wright said Monday on FS1’s “First Things First.” “I gave them one more win thanks to the addition of Tom Brady. The NFL did the Bucs some favors schedule-wise. Starting Nov. 3, every game they play is either in a dome, Tampa or in Carolina. So, cold weather shouldn’t kill ’em. I just wonder if a 43-year-old quarterback is gonna kill ’em.
Wright continued: “Simply put, I think the middle of the schedule is gonna kill ’em. You’ve got Weeks 5 through 12: at Chicago, home for Green Bay, at Vegas — I think the Raiders are gonna be good. You play New Orleans, obviously, once in the beginning of the year and then there and then to Kansas City. I also think the late bye week for a 43-year-old quarterback — not ideal. They’re gonna lose Week 1 and then starting in Week 5 through 12 I see a lot of losses piling up there.”
As far as other predictions from Wright for the upcoming NFL season, the FS1 talking head believes the Patriots will post a better record than Brady’s Bucs.
