After the Eagles took down the Chiefs on Sunday night in Super Bowl LIX, it was easy to let the mind wander into the question of when the Bucs might find themselves with another opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

For a lot of reasons, Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl window should be more open in 2025 than it’s been since perhaps 2021.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

The roster on the offensive side of the ball is largely set, with re-signing Chris Godwin and re-signing Ben Bredeson (or finding an alternative at left guard) being the only significant priorities. Otherwise, some depth upgrades are all that’s really needed.

Of course, new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard will have to prove capable of carrying on the top-five offense that Liam Coen engineered in 2024, but the offense should be a point of strength for the Bucs heading into 2025.

The defense needs some work, but there are pieces to build around. Vita Vea, Calijah Kancey, Yaya Diaby, Zyon McCollum, Tykee Smith and Antoine Winfield Jr. make up the core right now, and for the first time in a few years, the Bucs do have the financial means to make some upgrades this offseason outside of re-signing their own.

So, if Jason Licht, Mike Greenberg and the rest of the leadership inside One Buc Place push the right buttons this offseason, there’s no reason why this team can’t compete for the franchise’s third-ever Lombardi Trophy next season. But if the Bucs are able to do just that, what might be the biggest reason why they were able to get over the hump?

Earlier this week, our staff here at Pewter Report waded into the topic of what the Bucs could learn from the Super Bowl-champion Eagles, addressing that question in our weekly roundtable as well as on the Pewter Report Podcast. But while there are multiple answers to that question and multiple answers to what it is that can get the Bucs back to a Super Bowl level in 2025, we did try to narrow things down in with our latest poll across our Pewter Report social media channels.

What Bucs Fans Believe Might Lead To Lombardi Trophy No. 3

Bucs OLBs Anthony Nelson, Yaya Diaby, and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka – Photo by: USA Today

The question from the latest Pewter Report poll was essentially the same as the title of this article. We posed it this way: If the Bucs win their third Lombardi Trophy next February, the biggest reason will be…

The four options for Bucs fans and Pewter People to choose between were Improved Pass Rush, More Takeaways On Defense, The Offense Remains Top-5 and Better Coaching/Game Management. So, which option won out?

On Twitter/X, there were 774 votes, with pass rush being the top choice at 67.6%. Up next was more takeaways on defense at 22.1%, while the other two options combined for the remaining 10%.

Bucs DB Tykee Smith – Photo by: USA Today

There were a combined 1,248 voters between Facebook and Instagram, and the split was closer. Pass rush still won out as the top option at 42.3%, but 32.5% of voters chose takeaways. Only 4.9% chose the offense, while 20.4% picked better coaching and game management from Todd Bowles.

Over on YouTube, 66% of the 896 voters as of Wednesday afternoon picked pass rush, while 22% said takeaways, 5% went with offense and 7% opted for better coaching.

Overall, there were 2,918 voters, and the breakdown went like this:

Pass Rush: 56.3%
More Takeaways On Defense: 26.5%
Offense Remains Top Five: 4.5%
Better Coaching/Game Management: 12.7%

Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson – Photo by: USA Today

Of course, all of this works in harmony to create a championship contender. Plenty of Pewter People pointed out as much, especially when it came to the top two options in the poll. Better pass rush can create more takeaways in the form of sack-fumbles and interceptions, which was presumably a significant reason why the pass rush option won out in the poll.

A lot of Bucs fans cited the Eagles’ success in that department, too. Philadelphia was able to consistently pressure Patrick Mahomes by only rushing four during Super Bowl LIX, which left the coverage on the back end of the defense strong and created opportunities for takeaways.

The truth is that there are a few different factors holding the Bucs back from being true contenders for their third Super Bowl win in franchise history, but with such a focus on getting after the quarterback and creating more takeaways as a result, it’s clear that the Tampa Bay faithful want Licht and Co. to go out and get a high-end pass rusher to pair with Yaya Diaby.

NEW Pewter Report Polls Every Monday And Friday Across All Channels

Stay tuned to Pewter Report’s social media channels each week for more Pewter Report polls. Every Monday and Friday, we’ll be looking to hear from Bucs fans on the latest surrounding the team.

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