Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Struggles After Week 3

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 26-7 in week three against the Denver Broncos, and the Broncos came in 0-2 with rookie Quarterback Bo Nix, who got their first win of the season. In a game most Buccaneers fans expected the team to win, the offense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers never got going. What factors are the Bucs facing in displaying a lack of execution this past week?

For the second week in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense faced defensive pressure that halted its possible gains on plays. The Bucs have some injuries to key players, but only one is on offense. The Buccaneers got a win over the Detroit Lions last week with some fantastic moments from Bucs Quarterback Baker Mayfield, but there was no such luck this week.

Bucs Run Offense

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For the second week in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have failed to gain over 100 yards in the run game. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are without Left Tackle Luke Goedeke due to a concussion he suffered during their week one win against the Washington Commanders. If the run game was up to par, would that have stopped the defense from putting so much pressure on Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield? In the past two weeks, their run offense has gained 161 yards in rushing, 91 yards in this week’s game against the Denver Broncos, and 70 yards in last week’s win against the Detroit Lions. 

In week one against the Washington Commanders, the Bucs gained 112 yards in rushing, led by Bucs rookie Running Back Bucky Irving, who had nine carries for 62 yards. Starting running back for the Bucs, Rachaad White also had 13 carries for 31 yards in that game. This week against the Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Bucky Irving led the way again in rushing yards with nine carries for 70 yards. The only rushing touchdown by the Bucs in the past two games was by Mayfield.

Buccaneers Passing Offense

Mayfield has been doing an excellent job of extending plays to get passes to open receivers. In the Bucs’ first two games, Mayfield dodged and weaved his way around the opposing defenders, making many connections to Wide Receiver Chris Godwin. Godwin has been the top yards receiver for the Bucs for the past two games. This week was no different, with Godwin catching six passes for 53 yards for one touchdown. Mayfield threw for 163 yards on 25 for 33 completions with one touchdown and one interception. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback did complete a pass to seven different receivers but still couldn’t get the offense rolling. Bucs veteran Wide Receiver Mike Evans, who has had ten consecutive seasons with over 1000 receiving yards, has yet to achieve over 100 yards receiving in the past three games. In Sunday’s game, Evans had two catches on three targets for 17 yards. Evans has not scored a touchdown since week one. Tampa Bay Mayfield had this to say after the disappointing loss on home turf; according to the team website,

“You have to prepare like you’re playing in a playoff game every week, or else this can happen. We got our asses kicked, physicality-wise, execution-wise, all over the board for us. It’s a good lesson for our team, for the young guys who haven’t seen it before, for what you need to be prepared for, how detailed we need to be. For it to happen this early on, I’m going to take the positives from it and takes this one on the chin. There’s nothing else to do besides that, and go from there.”

Final Thoughts

With this unexpected loss to the Broncos, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have no room for error. Technically, it was supposed to be an easy win against a developing team, but you can win or lose on any given Sunday. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to tighten up the sails because the next seven games could be real fights to get wins.

Next week, the Bucs host the Philadelphia Eagles; Bucs will play the Atlanta Falcons twice in six games in week five and eight, the New Orleans Saints in week six, and the Baltimore Ravens in week seven. In week nine they face the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, and then in week ten the San Francisco 49ers at home. Three out of the seven will be road games. 

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