The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked out of Week 2 with an 0-2 record, and the 23-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns left plenty to pick apart. Some of what showed up Sunday was ugly enough to raise real questions, even this early in the season.
The biggest issue remains the same one that showed up in the opener: Baker Mayfield, and with him offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, still haven’t found a way to consistently move the ball beyond the line of scrimmage. Tampa Bay leaned heavily on short throws and dump-offs again, and the passing game had almost nothing working in the intermediate or deep areas. Mayfield rarely pushed the ball downfield, and when he did, the results were mostly empty.
There are a few possible explanations for that. The offensive line had trouble keeping the pocket clean, Mayfield’s internal clock looked out of sync and the receivers weren’t creating much separation. Whatever the cause, the Buccaneers need to correct it quickly.
The defensive front had its own problems, starting with Rueben Bain. After two games, he has yet to make much of an impact as a pass rusher, and Sunday was another quiet outing.
He finished the first half with zero pressures and didn’t do much more after that. Some were willing to excuse his first game because it was his NFL debut and because he was facing Cincinnati tackle Amarius Mims, but that explanation doesn’t hold much weight after what happened against Cleveland.
There’s no reason to bury Bain after two games, but Tampa Bay drafted him to be much more than a non-factor. Right now, the question is simple: when does he start looking like the first-rounder the Buccaneers believe he is, or at least like an average starter?
Tackling was another mess. Tampa Bay has already missed too many tackles this season, and the Browns game only made the problem louder. Linebacker Alex Anzalone has been at the center of a lot of those misses, and his play is becoming a real concern.
Anzalone missed multiple tackles in space and hasn’t offered much in coverage or as a blitzer. That combination has hurt the defense enough that Todd Bowles may need to rethink how much he’s using him. SirVocea Dennis and Christian Rozeboom are both options, and Bowles may not make a move yet, but the pressure to do something is there.
If there was one bright spot, it came from Chase McLaughlin. Tampa Bay has dealt with kicking issues in the past, but that hasn’t been the case with him.
On Sunday, he was perfect on field goals and extra points, including a 59-yard field goal on the Buccaneers’ first possession. Per the Buccaneers, that kick was the third-longest field goal in team history.
McLaughlin has already made a strong case to be the kicker of the future in Tampa Bay, and if this keeps up, he’s likely headed for a big extension this offseason.
In Other News...
Bucs Have The Edge In A Game Neither Offense Can Control
A sloppy first half left Tampa Bay ahead of Cleveland 9-6 at the break, with the Buccaneers taking advantage of a key fourth-down turnover by the Browns to gain a small but meaningful edge. Neither offense found much rhythm, while Clevelands defense did enough to keep the game tight and the Browns offense repeatedly stalled when it had chances to extend drives.
Deshaun Watson opened for Cleveland and was efficient if not explosive, completing 7 of 9 passes for 55 yards, while Baker Mayfields afternoon was just as constrained for Tampa Bay at 9 of 15 for 45 yards with an interception. With both sides struggling to create clean possession after clean possession, the game settled into the kind of field-position battle where one mistake can matter a lot more than a long scoring drive. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Get One Last Chance After Bizarre Late-Game Delay
A Week 2 meeting between the Buccaneers and Browns turned into a long night at Raymond James Stadium, with lightning in the area forcing a delay that stretched beyond two hours just as the fourth quarter was winding down. When the game stopped, Cleveland was ahead 23-19, but Tampa Bay had already put itself in position to make one last push, and neither side had burned through its timeouts.
When play finally resumed, the Buccaneers still had a live chance to flip the outcome, adding an unusual layer of drama to a game that had already spent most of the evening on edge. For Tampa Bay, the pause did not erase the fact that a comeback was still on the table, and the final moments were set up to hinge on execution after one of the strangest interruptions a regular-season game can offer. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Get An Early Opening In Cleveland's Defense
The Browns opened their 2026 season leaning heavily on a familiar defensive pattern, sitting in Cover 3 on first and second down before switching to man coverage on third down. It was a look that opposing offenses were quick to identify, with both the Jaguars and Buccaneers finding ways to test those tendencies and force Cleveland to reveal what it wanted to be on each snap.
For Tampa Bay, the early takeaway is less about one game than about the chance it created to probe a defense that may not be hiding much in obvious situations. The sample is tiny, but if Cleveland keeps showing that same down-and-distance rhythm, future opponents will have a clear starting point for how to plan around it. [Read more 🡒]