Tom Brady starred as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers overcame the Denver Broncos with ease to send a message to the NFL that The Bucs might be here to stay during the 2020/21 season.
With the New Orleans Saints overcome by a final quarter surge by the home side at the Green Bay Packers, The Bucs moved to 2-1 in wins this season as they triumphed over the Broncos. With The Saints slipping to 1-2, it could yet prove a vital weekend come the end of the NFL season, and The Bucs have a great team performance to thank for the victory.
Bruce Arians was quick to praise his defense against The Broncos, but the statistics showed it was an all-round performance that was worthy of the plaudits. Outscoring their opponents 23-10 by the end of the second quarter, The Bucs cruised through the rest of the game, scoring five more unanswered in the third quarter before a stalemate in the final quarter brought about acclaim for the back line in the aftermath of the result. In truth, however, the balance was what won the bucs the game. Brady threw 297 yards, while Rob Gronkowski, brought in to reignite his formidable partnership with his former Patriots colleague. ‘Gronk’ very nearly got his first touchdown for The Bucs since his summer move.
Gronk shows he still has some juice left in the legs, gets separation for a redzone look but he was just barely out of bounds.pic.twitter.com/ygn0RsPLUk
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 27, 2020
Elsewhere, Mike Evans’ two touchdowns were key to separating The Bucs from The Broncos, who will have worried their backers this season. By contrast to their hosts, The Broncos looked sluggish and ill-equipped to deal with the array of talent coming at them.
Without Drew Lock and linebacker Vonn Miller, The Broncos looked light, but will come again this season. The Bucs’ odds have switched on the back of the weekend’s results, with the Tampa-based team now best odds 21/20 to win NFC South, with the New Orleans Saints slipping to 6/5. The two rank outsiders in the division are the Atlanta Falcons (16/1) and Carolina Panthers (40/1), who look as unlikely to triumph as pre-season pundits figured.
Tom Brady is a 50/1 shot to win the Regular Season MVP market, while Rob Gronkowski is 11/1 to win Comeback Player of the Year. Interestingly, Brady is half that price (25/1) to throw the most passing yards, an achievement that would surely see him win the MVP for the Regular Season, so backing that first option at twice the price is clearly the better idea as it’s very unlikely the second happens without the overall MVP win coming in too. Why halve your chances?
With The Bucs on the up, some of the more attractive sportsbetting markets are opening up, with Bruce Arians team a 14/1 shot to win Super Bowl 55. A few more performances like their Denver demolition and those odds are likely to tighten as much as the Tampa Bay backline.
