San Diego ? Tampa Bay led the NFL in scoring defense this season, allowing only 196 points.

Since the advent of the 16-game schedule in 1978, only the 2000 Baltimore Ravens (165 points), the 1985 Chicago Bears (187), the 2000 Tennessee Titans (191) and the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers (195) have allowed fewer points.

But it’s not as if these Buccaneers are some overnight sensation. For each of the past six years, Tampa has finished in the top 10 in both total defense and scoring defense in the NFL.

“These are guys that when you look over the last five, six years, you’re going to see awfully good numbers,” Tampa general manager Rich McKay said Monday. “And I don’t know how many other teams can say that over that many years.”

Really, only the Chicago Bears of the mid-1980s–with their famed 4-6 defense–had that kind of staying power in the past 20 years.

Defensive tackle Warren Sapp knows all the numbers.

“That six-year run that we’ve had, with the 1,538 points that we’ve given up, that’s 16.02 a game in 96 games,” he said.

Which is not many. Since the start of the 1997 season, it’s 203 fewer points than the second-best defense–Baltimore.

But McKay, Sapp and all of the Tampa Bay defenders realize there’s a difference between being considered good, or even great, and being considered special. Special comes only with winning a Super Bowl.

Tampa Bay quarterback Brad Johnson talks to the media at a Super Bowl news conference. The Buccaneers play the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl on Sunday in San Diego.

Finally, thanks to Sunday’s dominating 27-10 victory over Philadelphia in the NFC title game, the Bucs have reached football’s biggest stage. A victory over AFC champion Oakland, the league’s top-rated offense, would validate this Buccaneers defense as one of the best of modern times.

“They deserve it,” McKay said. “But I think they do accept the premise that until you win a championship, you’re not going to be viewed as special. So I think they’ve become very determined to try to get over that little hump.”

Which explains why just getting here isn’t enough for the Tampa defense.

“Winning separates you,” Sapp said. “Because they don’t talk about the Purple People Eaters (Minnesota) and the Fearsome Foursome (LA Rams) like they do the Steel Curtain (Pittsburgh) or the Doomsday (Dallas).”

That’s because the Steelers and the Cowboys won Super Bowls; the Los Angeles Rams and the Vikings didn’t.

“That’s what defines you as a ballclub, and a unit, if you want to be one of the best ever,” Sapp said. “That’s what put the Ravens where they are. We’re talking about champions. You don’t even hear (about) the Purple People Eaters or the Fearsome Foursome unless you’re just great fans.”

Sapp, outside linebacker Derrick Brooks and strong safety John Lynch have been the backbone of this defense for the better part of a decade. All were Buccaneers draft picks–Lynch in 1993, and Sapp and Brooks in ’95. They began their NFL careers in the days of the woebegone Yucs. With the arrival of Tony Dungy in 1996, they were transformed into annual playoff contenders.

With the arrival of Jon Gruden this season, they are playing for the Lombardi Trophy.

“Jon re-energized the defense, because he brought hope to the offensive side of the ball,” McKay said. “He set a tone for the offense that really we had not set before. And I think that invigorated the Warren Sapps, the Derrick Brookses, the John Lynches of the world.”