SB 37 Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Super Bowl XXXVII - Superbowl XXXVII- Super Bowl 37 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Oakland Raiders

Thus, Dungy was fired and replaced by Gruden.

Still, even Gruden had trouble getting the offense in sync during his first year as Tampa Bay's head coach. In 2002, the Buccaneers ranked 25th in the league in total yards gained (5,222). Quarterback Brad Johnson had decent numbers and made the Pro Bowl, completing 281 out of 451 passes for 3,049 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions.
Running back Michael Pittman led the team in rushing with 718 yards and one touchdown, and caught 59 passes for 477 yards. Pro Bowl fullback Mike Alstott had 548 yards and 5 touchdowns, and also had 35 receptions for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Davis was known to have the lowest salaries for head coaches in the league, and Gruden was no exception. Instead of paying a high salary for Gruden, Davis opted to trade the rights for Gruden to the Buccaneers in exchange for draft picks, in a deal similar to what Patriots owner Robert Kraft made with the New York Jets to get head coach Bill Belichick in 2000. The Buccaneers ended up giving four high draft choices and $8 million to the Raiders to get Gruden. But Tampa Bay was desperate to have someone rebuild their offense so it would complement their powerful defense in an attempt to win the Super Bowl.
For most of its history, the Buccaneers were regarded as losers, only making the playoffs 3 times in their first 20 seasons. But all that changed when the team hired Tony Dungy as head coach in 1996. Dungy rebuilt the defense around a core group of players such as lineman Warren Sapp, linebacker Derrick Brooks, and defensive backs Ronde Barber and John Lynch. By 1997, Tampa Bay ranked 3rd in the league in total yards allowed, 2nd in 1998, and 3rd in 2000.
With one of the best defenses in the league, Dungy helped guide the Buccaneers to 4 playoff appearances in his 5 years as the team's head coach. But the team always had one of the worst offenses in the league, and this was a major factor in their playoff losses.

Wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson led the team with 76 receptions for 1,088 yards and 5 touchdowns, while wide receiver Keenan McCardell had 61 receptions for 670 yards and 6 touchdowns.
However, the Buccaneers' defense was still the strength of the team, leading the NFL in total defense (252.8 yards per game), pass defense (155.6 yards per game), points allowed (12.3 points per game), passing touchdowns allowed (10), interceptions (31), and opponent passer rating (48.4). Brooks, Lynch, Sapp and lineman Simeon Rice all had Pro Bowl years. Brooks led the team with 87 tackles and excelled at pass coverage, recording 5 interceptions, 218 return yards, and 2 touchdowns.

The Buccaneers' defense intercepted five passes, three of which were returned for touchdowns, and recorded five sacks as Tampa Bay scored 34 unanswered points en route to its first Super Bowl victory.

Charles Woodson intercepted Brad Johnson three plays into the game to give Oakland the ball at the Buccaneers' 36. But Simeon Rice sacked Rich Gannon on third down to force the Raiders to settle for Sebastian Janikowski's 40-yard field goal.

On their next nine possessions, the Raiders registered just two first downs and did not run a play inside the Buccaneers' 40 as Tampa Bay scored the next 34 points. The Buccaneers answered Janikowski's field goal with Martin Gramatica's 31-yard boot to tie the game.

An interception by Dexter Jackson set up Gramatica's go-ahead field goal early in the second quarter. Midway through the second quarter, a 25-yard punt return by Karl Williams and a 19-yard run by Michael Pittman led to Mike Alstott's 2-yard touchdown run.

Late in the half, the Buccaneers drove 77 yards, aided by three defensive penalties and pass receptions of 16 and 12 yards by Alstott, to set up Brad Johnson's 5-yard touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell with 30 seconds left in the half, which gave Tampa Bay a 20-3 lead.

With their first possession of the second half, the Buccaneers put together a 14-play, 89-yard drive that consumed 7:52 and was culminated by Johnson's 8-yard scoring toss to McCardell. Two plays later, Dwight Smith intercepted Gannon's pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown and a 34-3 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter. Tampa Bay scored four touchdowns in a span of 16:37.

Jerry Porter's 39-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone made it 34-9. Less than three minutes later, Tim Johnson blocked Tom Tupa's punt. Eric Johnson caught the ball and dove into the end zone for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 34-15 with 14:16 remaining.

The Buccaneers drove deep downfield again, but Tupa mishandled the snap for a field-goal attempt, allowing the Raiders to regain possession. Gannon hit Jerry Rice with a 48-yard touchdown pass with 6:06 left to trim the lead to 34-21.

A 9-yard pass by Johnson to Alstott on third-and-7 allowed Tampa Bay to take another two minutes off the clock before Tupa punted with 2:44 remaining.

On third-and-18 from the Raiders' 29, Derrick Brooks intercepted Gannon's pass and raced 44 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 1:18 remaining to give Tampa Bay a commanding 41-21 lead. Smith intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown with two seconds left to finish the scoring.

Johnson was 18 of 34 for 215 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. Pittman had 29 carries for 124 yards. Gannon was 24 of 44 for 272 yards and two touchdowns, with a Super Bowl record five interceptions.

Jackson, who had the first two interceptions, one of which led to the go-ahead field goal, was named the game's most valuable player.