A last-second win over a Dallas team with two victories, and Tampa Bay Bucs coach Lovie Smith no longer recognizes a ceiling.
Smith, coach of the 4-5 Bucs, talked about reaching the Super Bowl Monday.
This year.
“We have the goal of beating our next opponent,” said Smith, a day after a 10-6 win over Dallas. “Our goals are to win the NFC South and to win the Super Bowl. We’re relevant. Everything we’ve set out is in front of us. Our main goal is to improve over the last game we played.”
Yes, the Super Bowl seems far-fetched for a team that was only 2-14 a year ago.
However, the Bucs are coming off their finest defensive performance of the year, a performance where they held the Cowboys to two yards per rushing attempt and kept them out of the end zone. Tampa Bay won on a last-minute drive, then intercepted a pass to finish things off.
“We finished,” Smith said. “Our linebackers played well. It was as good as the two of them (Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David) have played at the same time. Our safeties played well. Our cornerbacks.”
Smith was asked what he liked about the Bucs’ late drive for the win.
“It would be easier to talk about what I didn’t like,” he said.
The Bucs try for two in a row, and to reach .500, in this week’s game against the Eagles.
