Super Bowl 55: Could Buccaneers be first team to play in Super Bowl in own stadium?

It's very unusual for one state to host a Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons. Super Bowl LIV was of course played Sunday night from Miami, and Super Bowl LV will be played on the opposite coast of Florida about 280 miles northeast of Miami in Tampa. Raymond James Stadium was not originally scheduled to be the host of that game, but in May 2017 NFL owners voted to move Super Bowl LV from Los Angeles to Tampa because of concerns over delays in the construction of the new stadium in L.A.

Back in 2017, it was no sure thing that the Rams-Chargers stadium would even be ready for the 2020 season – it will be -- and hosting a Super Bowl is quite an endeavor. Los Angeles will get Super Bowl LVI instead.

The various sportsbooks released NFL futures odds to win Super Bowl LV and conference titles a few weeks ago, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are +2500 to win the NFC title, shorter odds than only five teams. Thus, it seems likely that one unusual NFL drought will continue: No team has played in a Super Bowl in its own stadium.

The closest any team has gotten was the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, who played in Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif. The Niners rolled Dan Marino, in his only Super Bowl appearance, and the Miami Dolphins 38-16. The Los Angeles Rams reached Super Bowl XIV – losing to Pittsburgh -- but that game was held at the Rose Bowl and not the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the Rams played.

In the 2017 season, U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis hosted the Super Bowl and the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game but were routed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bucs' biggest offseason question is at quarterback; sign former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston to a long-term deal, slap the franchise tag on him, or let Winston walk in free agency. There have been rumblings that Coach Bruce Arians has interest in Philip Rivers, the long-time Chargers QB who moved his family from southern California to Florida recently and is not expected back with the Bolts. There has even been some Tom Brady speculation. 

Tampa Bay is +5000 on the NFL futures odds to win Super Bowl LV. The game is Feb. 7, 2021.