The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head into the bye week with a problem that’s too big to ignore.
At 3-6, Tampa Bay is only half a game out of the NFC South, but the margin for error is shrinking fast. The defense has been elite.
The running game has been elite. The passing game, though, has been one of the NFL’s worst, and it’s dragging everything else down.
The broad issues in the aerial attack have been talked about plenty. What stands out now is a more specific failure: the Buccaneers are barely using the middle of the field, and that’s a major reason the passing game has stalled.
League-wide, passes between the hashes make up 10.4% of throws this season. Tampa Bay has only put 11 passes there all year - eight from Baker Mayfield and three from Jalon Daniels.
That works out to just 4.9% of the team’s attempts. Both the raw total and the percentage rank 31st in the NFL, with only the Denver Broncos worse in both categories, according to SumerSports.
That’s a glaring hole, especially when the best offenses in the league are living in that space. The Houston Texans lead the NFL in both attempts and percentage of attempts to the middle of the field.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are No. 2, the Chicago Bears are No. 3 and the San Francisco 49ers are No. 4.
So why isn’t Tampa Bay getting the ball there?
One possibility is that the Buccaneers simply don’t have the kind of receivers who can consistently win in crowded areas and handle the physical punishment that comes with those throws. Emeka Egbuka has struggled with that for most of his NFL career to date.
Chris Godwin is in the tail end of his career, and his age makes it harder to absorb those hits. Tez Johnson is one of the smallest wideouts in the NFL.
That could be enough to make offensive coordinator Zac Robinson hesitant to feature inside-breaking routes as first reads in a progression-based system. Baker Mayfield could also be reluctant to attack the middle, as plenty of quarterbacks have been over the years. But with Daniels throwing there at just as low a rate, Robinson’s play design may be the bigger issue.
Whatever the cause, the Buccaneers have to unlock that part of the field if they want the passing game to move. Even getting to a league-average rate would help a lot, but it’s going to take more than one person to make it happen.
Tampa Bay returns from the bye to face the Detroit Lions on the road in Week 11.
In Other News...
Bruce Arians Just Made Buccaneers Fans Revisit One Huge Possibility
Bruce Arians has put a familiar name back into the conversation around Tampa Bays sideline. The former Buccaneers coach, who stepped away after the 2021 season, has been talking more openly about his interest in getting back into NFL coaching after recovering from serious health issues, including open-heart surgery. For a franchise that has already lived through one abrupt transition at the top, any hint of Arians reentering the picture is going to get attention.
The timing only makes the speculation louder, with Todd Bowles facing pressure and a coaching change around the corner looking increasingly possible. Arians history with the organization gives Buccaneers fans an obvious place to go with the idea, even if nothing is settled yet. For now, it is less about a decision than a reminder that one of the most recognizable figures in recent team history may not be done on the sideline after all. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Bye Week Could Decide How Far This Offense Can Go
With a 3-6 record, the Buccaneers are still hanging around in the NFC South race, but the bye week arrives with some real offensive questions attached to it. Todd Bowles has already acknowledged the heavy workload on Rachaad White and said the team needs to ease it, a sign that Tampa Bay is looking beyond just surviving the next game and toward finding a more sustainable formula.
There is also a broader conversation coming for Baker Mayfield and the way the offense is being deployed overall. The Bucs are weighing adjustments to Mayfield's role while planning to lean more on Kenny Gainwell, and how those pieces fit together could go a long way toward determining whether this group can turn competitiveness into something more meaningful down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Tony Dungy Quietly Distances Himself From A Tampa Event
Tony Dungy will not be part of the Life Surge Christian wealth seminar scheduled for Tampa next month, a quiet but notable change involving one of the most recognizable figures tied to the city. The former Buccaneers coach had been associated with the event, which has drawn attention because of the broader conversation around Life Surge and the kind of audience it has been trying to reach.
The decision comes after recent reporting raised questions about the organization, including customer complaints and the cost of its courses, with Tim Tebows involvement also coming under scrutiny. Dungy is the latest prominent name to step away from the group, joining others who have also distanced themselves as the event approaches. [Read more 🡒]