The Tampa Bay Buccaneers still have plenty to clean up, but the calendar is doing them a major favor.
At 3-6, Tampa Bay is chasing the NFC South from a half-game back, and the path forward is simple enough: start winning, and do it fast. The Bucs have already taken care of business inside the division, going unbeaten in NFC South play so far, but there are still four division matchups left on the slate, including both games against the New Orleans Saints. If Tampa Bay is going to win the division, those games probably won’t be enough on their own.
What gives the Buccaneers a real opening is the shape of the rest of their schedule. Over the final eight weeks, Tampa Bay has the easiest remaining strength of schedule in football, with opponents combining for a .403 winning percentage.
That softer stretch is helped by the fact that the Bucs still have four division games ahead of them, and every remaining NFC South opponent has just three wins so far. Beyond that, Tampa Bay is set to face the Baltimore Ravens, who are 4-5, and the Los Angeles Chargers, who are 0-8. Of the eight teams left on the schedule, only two currently own winning records.
Those two, though, are not exactly soft landings. Tampa Bay heads to Detroit in Week 11 to take on a Lions team that could make things even tougher if the Bucs slip to 3-7. Then comes a Week 17 home game against the Los Angeles Rams, a matchup that was circled before the season as a key one for Tampa Bay, even if the Bucs may already be out of the race by then.
There’s another wrinkle working in Tampa Bay’s favor: the schedule layout itself. The Buccaneers won’t have to deal with back-to-back road games all season, and they also get a pair of straight home games against the Panthers and Chargers in Weeks 12 and 13.
Still, none of that matters unless the Bucs start turning the schedule into wins. Their next chance comes in Week 11, when they try to knock off Detroit on the road.
In Other News...
Baker Mayfield Is Creating A Buccaneers Problem They Can't Ignore
Baker Mayfields uneven play has become hard for the Buccaneers to brush aside, especially with the passing game sputtering and the decision-making looking shakier than Tampa Bay can afford. The contrast with rookie Jalon Daniels only sharpens the conversation, because even with his inexperience, Daniels has started to look like a more viable option if the offense keeps stalling.
Todd Bowles is now in a spot every coach wants to avoid, weighing whether patience with his starter is helping the team or simply delaying a tougher call. If Mayfield does not clean things up soon, the Bucs may have to confront a quarterback question they hoped would stay theoretical, with the bye week looming as the next natural checkpoint. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Face One Offensive Problem That Could Decide The Division
At the midway point of the season, the Buccaneers are still very much in the NFC South race despite a 3-6 record, sitting just half a game behind the division leader. What stands out most about Tampa Bay, though, is how unusual its offense has become. The Bucs have piled up more rushing yards than passing yards, a rare shape for any modern NFL attack, and it reflects how much the passing game has lagged while the team has tried to stay afloat.
The bye week now looms as a chance to straighten that out before the stretch run. Tampa Bay knows it needs a more balanced offense if it wants to turn a shaky first half into a legitimate division push, and the passing game is the clearest place to look for improvement. If the Buccaneers can get that side of the offense moving again, the rest of the season could look a lot different. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers May Be Underusing A Back Who Could Change This Offense
The Buccaneers have made a noticeable effort to lean on the run game lately, with Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell handling much of the work out of the backfield. But there is another layer to that rotation worth watching, because Sean Tucker has continued to flash efficiency whenever he gets the ball and has looked like a back who can add a different kind of juice to the offense.
Even with that production, Tucker has not been featured nearly as often as the other options in the rushing mix, and his usage has lagged far behind what his performance metrics suggest he deserves. For a Tampa Bay offense trying to find the right balance and keep defenses honest, the question is whether the Buccaneers are leaving something on the table by not giving Tucker a bigger role. [Read more 🡒]