The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were not widely considered a serious contender for the Super Bowl in the 2023 NFL season even when they made it to the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Bucs deserve the praise they're getting for seemingly overachieving in their first season of the post-Tom Brady era. That being said, it's still Super Bowl or bust in the eyes of Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles.

“Anything short of the Super Bowl is a disappointment,” the Buccaneers mentor said following Tampa Bay's 31-23 road loss at the hands of Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions in Sunday's NFC divisional-round matchup (h/t Larry Lage of the Associated Press).

Bowles knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl. He's won it three times before in different capacities, including the one in 2021 when he helped the Buccaneers win the Vince Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs as Tampa Bay's defensive coordinator. He also won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers as a player personnel staff member and with the Washington Redskins as a player.

The good news for Bowles and the Buccaneers is that they have lots of time to build on a surprising campaign. It is now about sustaining their form and proving that their 2023 season with Baker Mayfield as the starting quarterback was not a fluke. The Bucs won the NFC South division title with a 9-8 record — better than their 8-9 slate in Brady's final NFL season — and defeated Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round.