Buccaneers projected to have No. 1 offense this upcoming season

With one season in the books, all the starters from the Super Bowl roster returning, and an offseason to actually prepare for the regular season has many folks considering the 2021 Buccaneers could have one of the best offenses in history.

Heading into the 2021 season, PFF ranked Tom Brady as the No. 2 quarterback in the league. But as a unit, NFL.com is projecting the Bucs to have the No. 1 ranked offense in the league for this season.

Tampa Bay’s offense and defense both account for at least 5.9 projected wins (their win total is 12.2). In the past five seasons, balanced teams — where the final actual win-total attribution at the end of the season was no more than 0.4 wins different between offense and defense (and a team won at least eight games) — all made it past Wild Card Weekend. Interestingly, none of them ranked No. 1 on either side of the ball in win share. The Bucs, who return all 22 starters from last year’s championship squad, have the best win-share projection on offense and third-best mark on defense.

Fun facts: In games with left guard Ali Marpet in the lineup last season, Tom Brady enjoyed an average of 0.3 seconds longer in the pocket on passing downs. Meanwhile, backs who ran to his side of the line (the gap on either side of him, behind him or to the outside of the tackle on his side) earned 1.3 more yards per attempt than when he wasn’t playing.

Tampa Bay finished the 2020 season third in the league in total offense behind the Green Bay Packers (1st) and Buffalo Bills (2nd). In this year’s NFL.com projections, they are ahead of the Chiefs (2nd) and Packers (3rd).