SAN DIEGO — Brad Johnson wore a look of satisfaction, yet refused to gloat.
It turns out Tampa Bay's offense was good enough to win the Super Bowl, and the quarterback didn't feel compelled to rub it in anybody's face. Instead, he just savored the pleasant taste of the 48-21 rout of the Oakland Raiders.
"I've worked hard all of my life," Johnson said. "You're not going to hear me go around saying that I'm the best, but this is one time when you can say we're the best. It's an incredible feeling."
Upstaging the Raiders' heralded No. 1 offense Sunday, the Bucs' O proved it can be plenty potent, too.
Tampa Bay gained 365 yards to Oakland's 269 with Johnson throwing for 215, Keenan McCardell catching a pair of touchdown passes and Michael Pittman rushing for a season-high 124 yards to help the Bucs dominate time of possession.
Keyshawn Johnson had a big game, too, and broke a three-day-old vow to not speak with reporters for the rest of his career.
"You didn't think I'd miss an opportunity to talk to people who didn't think we could do this, did you?" he said.
"This is why I came here," said the receiver, acquired in a trade with the New York Jets before the 2000 season, said. "And when you get one, you want a second one. You get a second, you want a third."
The performance of the Bucs' offense also was especially sweet for coach Jon Gruden, who left the Raiders for the Bucs after last season to accept the challenge of building an offense to complement Tampa Bay's top-ranked defense.
While most of the attention leading up to the game focused on the first-ever matchup of the league's No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense in a Super Bowl, the Bucs said all along that their offense shouldn't be overlooked.
Tampa Bay ranked 24th but improved steadily over the last half of the regular season. The Bucs really hit their stride in the playoffs, scoring nine touchdowns on the way to outscoring San Francisco, Philadelphia and Oakland 106-37.
Brad Johnson, meanwhile, threw 20 TD passes and just four interceptions in his last nine starts.
"I've seen myself here before. I have practiced this a million times, whether it's in the back yard throwing to my dad or whether it's on the practice field throwing to Keyshawn or whoever else it may be," Johnson said.
"I've visualized it, hoping one of these years it would come true. I fought through a lot of struggles and finally got the opportunity. And, we came through when we had to."
A disappointment for much of the season, Pittman set up 10 points with runs of 23 and 19 yards and finished the first half with 75 yards on 12 carries — surprising production for someone who averaged 3.5 yards per carry during the regular season and just 2.3 per attempt in Tampa Bay's first two playoff games.
"I never got down on myself. The offense was a work in progress," said Pittman. "I kept believing, pounding the rock and I knew good things would happen."
The Bucs ran for only 49 yards in the NFC championship game, gaining 1.5 yards per try. But the commitment to run, despite a lack of success, helped set up the play-action pass against the Eagles' aggressive defense.
Gruden did a masterful job of mixing the run and pass again Sunday. Even though Johnson wasn't particularly sharp throwing the ball, the Bucs outgained the Raiders 198-62 and had 14 first downs to Oakland's three in the first two quarters.
Pittman was one of the keys, setting up a field goal with his 23-yard run and racing straight up the gut of the Oakland defense for 19 yards to put the Bucs into position to go up 13-3 on Mike Alstott's 2-yard TD burst.
No. 3 receiver Joe Jurevicius was a factor, too, with four catches for 78 yards.
Jurevicius, who arrived in San Diego a day after his teammates so that he could spend time with his wife and ailing newborn son, set up McCardell's second TD with a 33-yard catch-and-run that was the biggest play in an 89-yard drive.
Last week, he contributed a critical 71-yard reception in the NFC championship game, even though he hadn't practiced because of the premature birth of his son, who remains hospitalized in Tampa.
"Going into the game, we knew that it could be either an offensive or defensive grudge match. As an offensive team, we had to take charge," Jurevicius said. "We had to step up to the plate, and I think we did."