Tampa Bay Buccaneers Among Super Bowl Favorites With Tom Brady, New England Patriots Are Contenders

Tom Brady has reportedly chosen to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving the New England Patriots after 20 years. With the six-time Super Bowl champion under center for the 2020 NFL season, Tampa Bay is considered by some to be one of the best teams in the league.

FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Buccaneers +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LV. Only the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs (+650), Baltimore Ravens (+700), San Francisco 49ers (+900) and New Orleans Saints (+1300) have better title odds.

Bovada.lv lists the Bucs as the fourth Super Bowl favorite, putting them ahead of the Saints.

Expectations are higher for Tampa Bay than they have been in some time. The Buccaneers last made the playoffs in the 2007 season. The team hasn’t won a postseason game since the organization won its only Super Bowl in the 2002 season.

The Buccaneers went 7-9 in the 2019 season. It marked the 11th time in 12 years that Tampa Bay finished no better than third place in the NFC South.

Jameis Winston led the NFL with 5,109 passing yards and finished second with 33 touchdowns as Tampa Bay’s starting quarterback last year. He was first with 30 interceptions.

Brady threw for 4,057 yards, 24 touchdowns, eight interceptions and an 88.0 passer rating. He led the Patriots to their 11th straight AFC East title and their 16th playoff appearance in 17 years.

New England missed the playoffs in 2008 when Brady suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. The odds suggest the Patriots could still be a contender in 2020 without Brady.

The Patriots have +2000 Super Bowl odds at FanDuel, putting them tied with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Bovada puts New England ahead of Seattle and just behind New Orleans.

New England still has the greatest head coach of all time and last season’s No.1 ranked defense. The Patriots went 12-4 with a unit that allowed the fewest total yards, points and yards per play.

The Patriots have the most difficult schedule in the NFL next season.