And then after all those losing seasons, all those jokes and ridicule, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers became World Champions. With new coach Jon Gruden at the helm, the Bucs recorded their best-ever record at 12-4 and progressed to Super Bowl XXXVII with a win over their nemesis, the Philadelphia Eagles in the cold. The Raiders fell in San Diego and history was made. For all the great numbers posted by Tampa Bay defenses over the previous years, this edition was truly spectacular shutting down teams all season.
NFC EASTPhiladelphia12-4NY Giants10-6Washington7-9Dallas5-11NFC NORTHGreen Bay12-4Minnesota6-10Chicago4-12Detroit3-13NFC SOUTHTampa Bay12-4Atlanta9-6-1New Orleans9-7Carolina7-9NFC WESTSan Francisco10-6St.Louis7-9Seattle7-9Arizona5-11WILD CARD GAMESAtlanta 27 Green Bay 7San Francisco 39 NY Giants 38DIVISIONAL GAMESPhiladelphia 20 Atlanta 6Tampa Bay 31 San Francisco 6CHAMPIONSHIP GAMETampa Bay 27 Philadelphia 10
AFC EASTNY Jets9-7New England9-7Miami9-7Buffalo8-8AFC NORTHPittsburgh10-5-1Cleveland9-7Baltimore7-9Cincinnati2-14AFC SOUTHTennessee11-5Indianapolis10-6Jacksonville6-10Houston4-12AFC WESTOakland11-5Denver9-7San Diego8-8Kansas City8-8WILD CARD GAMESNY Jets 41 Indianapolis 0Pittsburgh 36 Cleveland 33DIVISIONAL GAMESTennessee 34 Pittsburgh 31Oakland 30 NY Jets 10CHAMPIONSHIP GAMEOakland 41 Tennessee 24
SUPER BOWL XXXVII at Qualcomm Stadium, San DiegoTampa Bay 48 Oakland 21