Tampa Bay's defense.“We played like our life depended on it,” Jason Pierre-Paul said Sunday after the Bucs forced two more turnovers and sacked Aaron Rodgers five times to key a 31-26 victory that sends Brady to an unprecedented 10th Super Bowl.
And Tampa Bay to its first since the 2002 season.Keeping the core of an improved defense together was critical, too, in going from 7-9 last season to making the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.
And then getting to back to the NFL title game for the first time since those 2002 Bucs won it all. In the days after luring Brady from New England, Bucs general manager Jason Licht placed the franchise tag on linebacker Shaquil Barrett and re-signed Pierre-Paul and tackle Ndamukong Suh — moves coach.