Bucs had to drag themselves across the finish line but they ain't dead yet Go ahead and mock them. The Bucs deserve it. It's what they should expect after beginning the regular season as a Super Bowl contender and finishing it with a losing record. Imagine them, years from now with grandchildren upon their knees, spinning a romanticized tale of how the 2022 division champs were less stinky than every other NFC South team. So bemoan them, ridicule them, dismiss them. But maybe - just maybe - you should also appreciate them. Maybe you should consider that this aging, battered group of players persevered in ways we might never have expected. Yes, their greatest failure was an 8-9 record, but their biggest sin was failing to live up to the world's expectations. And maybe that has something to do with me. And you. And everyone else who assumed that Tom Brady's return would lead to tequila-stocked coolers on the Hillsborough River. I'm not suggesting the regular season wasn't a colossal disappointment. It was. Or that coaches, players and front- office folks shouldn't have fingers pointed accusingly in their direction. They should. But there is something to be said for limping across the finish line when your feet are blistered and your water bottle is empty. In retrospect, this was a flawed team. The offensive line was weak. The gap between Rob Gronkowski and every other tight end was enormous. The receivers weren't entirely healthy. And it's worth wondering how much swagger walked out of the locker room doors when Bruce Arians retired. Unlike the past two years, this Bucs team had more turnovers than takeaways. They used seven combinations of offensive linemen. They rushed for fewer yards than any playoff team since 2014. They are one of four teams to have been outscored by 40 or more points in the regular season that managed to win a division title. In other words, they were not a very good team. And yet you still have hope in January. It might be dim, but it's better than Rams fans have today. Or Colts fans. Or Saints fans. Or a whole lot of other teams' fans. The one thing the Bucs did well this season was win when it mattered most. Their last six victories were by 6, 3, 1, 5, 3 and 6 points. They weren't good enough to blow people away, but they were savvy enough to steal some games they probably had no business winning. When you look at it that way, Sunday's 30-17 loss in Atlanta was a fitting coda. In a perverse way, you might even be proud of the way the Bucs were smart enough to understand the bigger picture. The easy route would have been to play everyone for 60 minutes, then act badass when it was all over no matter how many guys were lined up in the trainer's room. But somewhere along the line, the Bucs realized they can no longer strut around the playground. Their roster is too old, too thin, too fragile. Their margin for error is so slim that every pulled hamstring and twisted ankle brings them one step closer to a season-ending loss. So yeah, it was a strategically sound decision to keep Tristan Wirfs, Donovan Smith, Vita Vea, Carlton Davis and Logan Ryan out of the starting lineup. And yes, it made perfect sense to pull Brady, Lavonte David, Devin White and others halfway through the game. Look, do you think Todd Bowles wanted to see the Bucs go from 13 wins to an 8-9 record in his first season as head coach? Do you think Brady wanted to finish a season with a losing record for the first time as a starting quarterback in his high school/college/NFL career? Faced with the choice of doing everything possible to finish with a winning record, they were willing to sacrifice personal milestones in order to give the team its best shot at succeeding in the postseason. That, to me, is more macho than pounding your chest because you played with pain in a meaningless game. Whether this means anything, we'll find out in the next week. If the Bucs lose to the Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs, they'll likely be remembered as a crappy team that lucked into the postseason because the NFC South was historically bad. And that would be an entirely accurate depiction. But what the Bucs did by beating the Panthers and clinching the division last week was give themselves a chance to change their destiny. Postseason victories should never be taken for granted. A generation ago, Tampa Bay went 15 years (1982-96) without a playoff victory. More recently, the Bucs had a 17-year drought (2003-2019) without a win in the postseason. So yeah, this season has felt like a huge letdown. But thankfully, it ain't over yet. John Romano, The Tampa Bay Times, published 9 January 2023