The Greatest Defensive Performance In Buccaneers History
February 7th, 2021
With all due respect to the legends of Buccaneers past, Joe just witnessed the greatest defensive performance in the history of Tampa Bay football.
There is no argument.
This 31-9 choke out of the Chiefs’ No. 1-ranked offense in the Super Bowl has no peer in Bucs history. Patrick Mahomes was hurried and hit and rushed while his receivers were smothered all night long.
Behind the pass rush were two dominating linebackers in Devin White and Lavonte David, leading the Bucs in tackles while White iced the game with a late interception. Travis Kelce had to work for everything he got, and the secondary was nearly flawless.
“That defense was very special tonight,” Hall of Fame head coach Bill Cowher said after the game.
Old Bucs fans watched the 1999 Bucs defense hold The Greatest Show On Turf to just 11 points in the NFC Championship game. Tonight was better.
Many say defense doesn’t win championships any longer. Well, they would be wrong.
Savor it, Bucs fans. It’s going to look even better when you watch the game a second time.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:26 pm
This city is going to go nuts. And by God I love it.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:26 pm
Totally agree Joe… Dominated in every way
February 7th, 2021 at 10:27 pm
Shut the F up Joe…
2002 Bucs gave up 15 points, scored 21…
Was amazing tonight – loved it, but don’t be dumb.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:28 pm
Devin White…..
12 tackles….2 TFL…..interception…..and coverage…
Devin White…..SAVIOR!!!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:28 pm
Winfield giving the sign to Hill made my day!!!!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:31 pm
ROD
Stop living in the past….that was Mahomes first bad game ever. No NFL DC has ever figured out how to stop Mahomes until tonight.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:32 pm
AMAZING. A blowout.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:32 pm
What a time to play your best game all year. They are the MVP
February 7th, 2021 at 10:32 pm
ROD MUNCH…this KC offense was WAY BETTER THAN THAT RAIDERS D. Get real!!!!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:32 pm
That was the first complete game by both sides of the ball!!!!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:33 pm
KC with Mahomes is as dangerous as the Raiders offense back in 2002
The great Bucs defense of old DID whack them, they DID pick them off 5 times. But that offense DID score TD’s
Tonight, we held KC to 3 FG’s
I am still in shock.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:33 pm
***Raiders O not D…
February 7th, 2021 at 10:33 pm
Don’t forget Shaq!! Him and the D line were beasting all game!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:33 pm
Hill deserved it. He’s a punk
February 7th, 2021 at 10:33 pm
MVP should have gone to someone on Defense, They won the game, they won the playoffs!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:34 pm
Mahomes has never taken a physical beating like that in his football life
February 7th, 2021 at 10:34 pm
The d line was super.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:34 pm
100% correct Joe!!!! BEST D performance in Bucs history!!!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:34 pm
I started saying it in the middle of the 3rd Qtr. And then they got even better.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:34 pm
Nasty D. Vea had a lot to do with it pushing and collapsing the pocket and creating mismatches.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:35 pm
Michael Irving is going off about this Bucs team and Brady…he ain’t having any of that Mahommes comparison chit!!!!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:36 pm
Well said Joe. This defense didn’t get any respect all year, this may have been the best defensive performance in super bowel history against an offense this strong and dominant.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:37 pm
It’s 4:35 AM in France, I’m drinking champaign, and I’m getting drunk !
What a great feeling !
February 7th, 2021 at 10:37 pm
This game was won on the chalkboard.
Bowles drew up a scheme and shockingly Andy Reid was clueless to adapt.
Add to that Bucs were just hungrier
February 7th, 2021 at 10:37 pm
I agree, I love the 02’ Defense, live em’. But they had Raiders playbook. This D played totally with their balls dragging the turf….all night long. Their balls are stained green.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:38 pm
3 FGs. A LOT of people lost a sh|t ton of money on this game! Woo hooooo. Let’s Goooo!
As good as this defense was, there is NO WAY this team wins a Super Bowl without the culture change, attention to detail, and belief that TOM BRADY brought to this team!
No Brady, no Super Bowl. Period. We are set up to repeat if we keep our core guys.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:38 pm
Was this the greatest Bucs defense of all time? No
Was this the greatest Bucs defensive performance of all time? Yes by a mile.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:39 pm
And Joe questioned drafting Devin White, I am glad Joe was proven wrong.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:40 pm
entire defense was awesome! The defense worked together perfectly, game plan by Todd Bowles was a masterpiece!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:40 pm
With Munch on this one…..
But what a great night. Defense does win championships , no matter how hard the league tries to make it a fantasy league.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:42 pm
This is an era that favours offense. It’s incredible what they did out there tonight. And that was a pick by David….
February 7th, 2021 at 10:43 pm
No KC Chiefs touchdowns! Way to go defense!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:43 pm
Lavonte David is so f-ing good.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:47 pm
LVD played his best game as a Buc…..
February 7th, 2021 at 10:49 pm
To hold that offense to 3 field goals… Unbelievable.
REPEAT!
February 7th, 2021 at 10:53 pm
I’ll always be partial to that 1999 championship vs the Rams, especially considering that D had zero support from an awful offense.
But yeah, best ever or second best… hard to say across generations. That was an awesome performance.
February 7th, 2021 at 10:56 pm
Rod Munch won the “debate.” But these Bucs were a close 2nd. Unbelievable!
February 7th, 2021 at 11:00 pm
Leighroy and Rod Munch.
Ya’ll know that Rich Gannon isnt Patrick Mahomes right?
February 7th, 2021 at 11:01 pm
Can’t really say that. That 02 team faced the #1 offense as well and scored three TDs and gave up less than they scored. It is close. Maybe a tie.
February 7th, 2021 at 11:02 pm
@old sombrero. Thank you for pointing out Vea’s impact. That man is a beast. It doesn’t show in the box score but he just kept pushing whoever he was lined up against into Mahomes.
February 7th, 2021 at 11:03 pm
Any QB other than Mahomes would have been sacked 12 times…….I’ve never seen a QB on the run like he was tonight…..
February 7th, 2021 at 11:08 pm
No way … Bucs D vs. the Rams greatest show on turf – NFC Championship in the 1999 season. They stonewalled that high-powered offense.
February 7th, 2021 at 11:17 pm
Second greatest defensive win. Who is Tom Brady cos he was chopped liver without this defense tonight.
February 7th, 2021 at 11:23 pm
Great work fellas
Congrats BUCS FANS!!!!!
GO BUCS
February 7th, 2021 at 11:23 pm
Considering the stage and the Chief’s reputation this was definitely the biggest defensive showing in Buc’s history.
February 7th, 2021 at 11:26 pm
This was an absolute beat down by our defense. So bad that most of my “casual” Bucs fans tuned the game at the half because it was “boring”.
That’s domination.
February 7th, 2021 at 11:27 pm
Looked like the best of both Lee roys defense and Mr Derrick brooks defense. We know defense in this town. Joe is right
February 7th, 2021 at 11:32 pm
While the Rams game in ’99, the shutdown of the Vet in 2003 and the Super Bowl win in 2San Diego were all amazing defensive performances,; tonight is the best!
1. Bucs lost to the Rams, it took one bad play. Ricky Proehl…
2. The Vet win was great, probably gets Ronde into the HOF next year but it was not a Super Bowl win like tonight. I rank it #2.
3. When the Bucs won in San Diego it was total domination but the Raiders did not game plan well, the D knew what Callahan and the the Raiders were calling on each play. Great game but the D was not as suffocating as tonight! Holding KC to 9 was incredible. All of us would have been happy to keep KC in the 20s let alone no TDs!
Go Bucs World Champs!
February 8th, 2021 at 12:10 am
Bucs win! Bucs win! Bucs win!
None of the experts national or local predicted this one! We kept a high powered offense out of the end zone.
Defense wins championships. It just goes to show ya!
BUCS WIN! BUCS WIN! BUCS WIN!
February 8th, 2021 at 12:25 am
Holding the Chiefs to 3 goals, priceless! Mahomes was running for his life all night and took a tremendous beating. He is the most talented QB in the league but he got butted by the GOAT and our D tonight. What a phenomenal team win.
February 8th, 2021 at 12:56 am
I gotta agree with you Joe.
It was insane.
They played out of their minds. 100% the reason we Won! Not even a single touchdown allowed! Go Bucs!
February 8th, 2021 at 1:08 am
yeah joe your stretching this a bit, 2002 defense one of the greats of all time
February 8th, 2021 at 5:32 am
at worst this is in the top 3 defensive performances in bucs history…
and arguably number one…
like i said in another thread…
bowles shoulda just texted andy reid and said:
“don’t bother making the trip, i got this”
February 8th, 2021 at 6:29 am
PEACE OUT MOFO’S
February 8th, 2021 at 6:52 am
Tbbucs. Beautiful performance by the D. And maybe you’re young and didn’t experience the Bucs in the good ole days. Best performance I’ve ever witnessed was season opener 97 against the 49ers. Bucs 13-6 and young and rice on IR. I could be biased because I sat in those seats over a decade praying for a huge game and it hadn’t happened until then. Great job last night! One of the best!
February 8th, 2021 at 7:46 am
Best team ever team performance.
February 8th, 2021 at 8:31 am
I cannot disagree. In *this* era of football where the rules favor offense, to hold the Chiefs with all their weapons to 9 points is extraordinary. You’re 100% correct Joe, the greatest defensive performance on the biggest stage.
February 8th, 2021 at 9:25 am
Great d. Pinch me this is real. No more winston or lovie smith being behind 28-0 after first quarter sat in those stands 0-26 1976 what are the tickets going to cost next year lol training camp at the facility Yes. BUCS. It was a dream season
February 8th, 2021 at 10:06 am
Drafting Devin White and Vita Vea, signing JPP and Shaq, re-signing Lavonte is what won us these playoff games
February 8th, 2021 at 1:23 pm
Defense absolutely DOES win championships and offense gets you to the dance…. This was the best defense for one night that I’ve ever seen in my life!! … Against an unbelievable offense!! … These guys just put together the best 4 quarters of defense I’ve ever seen!!!!