Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Ranking the Super Bowls, #44: Super Bowl XXXVII

(photo credit: fanspeak.com)
The Oakland Raiders and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went head-to-head at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California in 2003. The two teams were meeting in Super Bowl XXXVII, where the winner would hoist the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. Other than Super Bowl 50, this Super Bowl was the last one to be held in California. This game was the first ever Super Bowl to have the league’s number one-ranked offense (Raiders), going up against the league’s number one-ranked defense (Buccaneers). This game was often referred to as the “Gruden Bowl”, since the main storyline surrounding the game was about Jon Gruden.

Gruden coached the Raiders from 1998-2001, before taking over as head coach of the Buccaneers in 2002. This game was also called the “Pirate Bowl”, because both teams have pirate related names.  This was also the first time the Super Bowl saw two former division rivals play against each other, as Tampa Bay and Oakland were both in the AFC West in 1976. Oakland became the first NFL franchise to appear in the Super Bowl during four different decades, (1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s and 2000’s). The Buccaneers were playing in their first ever Super Bowl, while the Raiders were playing in the franchise’s fifth ever Super Bowl.

During the week, Raiders starting center Barret Robbins went missing and he ended up in the hospital. Former Pro Bowler and backup center Adam Treu replaced Robbins. Tampa Bay posted a 12-4 record during the regular season, while Oakland nearly matched that, as they went 11-5 during the regular season. In the playoffs, Tampa Bay defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-6, and they downed the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10. The Raiders defeated the New York Jets 30-10, and the Tennessee Titans 41-24, in order to make it back to their first Super Bowl in 19 years.

Oakland entered as four point favorites, but aided by Gruden’s knowledge of his former team, the Buccaneers defense manhandled the Raiders, as Tampa Bay came out as 48-21 winners in Super Bowl XXXVII. Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon threw a Super Bowl record five interceptions, three of which were returned to the promise land for a touchdown. Gannon was also sacked five times by the nearly unstoppable Buccaneers defense. After trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, the Buccaneers scored 34 consecutive points to take a commanding 34-3 lead.

Buccaneers safety Dexter Jackson took two interceptions back to the house, as he was named the Super Bowl MVP. Jackson became only the second safety and the third defensive back to win Super Bowl MVP. Gannon completed 24 of his 44 pass attempts for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice caught five passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.

For the Buccaneers, quarterback Brad Johnson went 18-34 with 215 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Pittman carried the ball 29 times for a game high 124 yards.

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