The flash of the Oakland Raider’s offense faded to nothingness on Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rolled to a decisive 48-21 Super Bowl victory.
The Bucs turned what was billed to be a coaching battle between the Raiders’ top-ranked offense and their own top-ranked defense into a route. Buccaneer defenders returned three of Raiders QB Rich Gannon’s five interceptions for touchdowns.
Gannon, the league MVP, understated the completeness of the beating when he said “we were absolutely terrible. It was a nightmarish performance.”
The Tampa Bay defensive linemen, led by stud pro-bowlers Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice, haunted Gannon with heavy, unrelenting pressure. The pressure forced him to scramble around instead of looking downfield for his recievers.
The Raiders, unable to block Tampa’s defensive assault or uncover weaknesses in their defense, continued to throw the ball all night, failing to adjust their gameplan.
“Against the forward pass, our guys are like ‘bring it on,’” Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. “That’s what they like to defend. And tonight they did one heck of a job.”
Bucs Safety Dexter Jackson earned the Super Bowl MVP award with two interceptions on the night, a performance that proved emblematic of the Bucs’ dominating defensive presence.
Gruden, at thrity-nine, became the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl.
Tampa Bay’s offense played the role of unsung hero on a night where defense had taken the spotlight. Bucs QB Brad Johnson, who delivered clutch passes to prolong clock eating drives and workhorse tailback Michael Pittman, who rushed for 124 yards on 29 carries, highlighted the offense’s gritty-but-effective performance.
The game’s already rich pageantry deepend into the Super Bowl’s biggest sub plot, with Gruden having coached both teams in just the past few years. Gruden was the Raiders’ head coach for four years prior to his accepting the Tampa Bay position.
The soap opera began when Raiders GM Al Davis, unsatisfied with the direction of his team, traded Gruden to the Bucs for eight million dollars and draft picks. The Raiders’ new coach, former offensive line coach Bill Callahan, replaced him and promptly led the Raiders to the Super Bowl.
“We were waiting for the right man and the right man came – Jon Gruden,’’ Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer said.