The Buccaneers walked out of Sunday with a 23-19 loss to the Browns, and the frustration went well beyond the final score. Tampa Bay had already let the opener slip, and in Week 2 it looked flat again against an opponent it should have handled better.
Baker Mayfield’s return to Cleveland was one of the biggest storylines going in. By the end, the bigger one was how quickly the Bucs have started to look stale.
Mayfield was at the center of it. He had spoken calmly and confidently in the buildup, but the game never matched that tone.
Instead, he delivered an uneven outing full of poor choices and missed chances. His first-half interception to cornerback Myles Harden came with no real target nearby, a costly example of forcing the issue.
When the pressure came, he often bailed from the pocket without finding much, ending up sacked or settling for short throws.
The fourth quarter brought the kind of sequence that sticks. Mayfield did put one throw on the money to Ted Hurst III for what could have been a game-winning touchdown, but the rookie dropped it.
On the next play, Mayfield rolled out, found no one, and tried to outrun Carson Schwesinger before being pushed out of bounds for a 3-yard gain. Then came 4th & 10, and Mayfield’s throw for Emeka Egbuka fell short in the end zone.
That was the game.
There was also the deeper issue: he still struggled to push the ball downfield. The arm strength and accuracy on the deep ball remain a problem, and this game only sharpened that concern.
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson didn’t do much to help. Tampa Bay never found much rhythm, and the play design never really put the receivers in positions to make life easier on Mayfield.
The offense leaned too heavily on short screens and horizontal movement, which made the whole thing feel predictable. Kenny Gainwell’s versatility also never got properly used, and the unit lacked any real vertical threat or explosiveness.
Too often, it was Bucky Irving carrying the load while the rest of the offense drifted.
The offensive line had its own rough afternoon. Ben Bredeson’s holding penalty in the second quarter wiped out a third-and-8 conversion to Chris Godwin Jr., and even though Mayfield later hit Ted Hurst III on third-and-18, Bredeson still earned a place in the discussion.
Graham Barton also got hit with a holding call after a 12-yard completion to Bucky Irving, turning a third-and-5 into a third-and-15. Bredeson then allowed a sack to Mason Graham on the next play, forcing a Riley Dixon punt.
Barton added another holding penalty later, this time with less than a minute left. Cody Mauch gave up plenty of pressure inside, helping collapse the pocket and contributing to the constant scramble mode.
Tampa Bay allowed three sacks.
Tristan Wirfs was also flagged for a personal foul in the first half and hasn’t looked like an All-Pro through the first two weeks. Coming off missed time in training camp because of injury, he has looked rusty.
The defense had its own problems, starting with Alex Anzalone. After a rough Week 1, he was back on the list in Week 2 after missing several tackles again.
One of the worst came late in the third quarter, when he failed to bring down rookie wide receiver Denzel Boston, who then slipped past Tykee Smith and Antoine Winfield Jr. for a 55-yard touchdown. Through two games, Anzalone has not played like a starting linebacker, and Todd Bowles may be forced into a difficult call with one of the team’s biggest offseason acquisitions.
The pass rush didn’t offer much relief either. Rueben Bain Jr. was quiet for a second straight week, and it already looks like the rookie may have hit the wall.
Yaya Diaby hasn’t generated much pressure either. For a duo that was supposed to bring heat off the edge, the production just hasn’t been there.
Kenny Gainwell’s early role has been another disappointment. After managing just 15 yards on five carries and three yards on one catch in Cincinnati, he followed that up with only two carries for 10 yards and three catches for five yards against Cleveland.
For all the talk about what he would add to the offense, the answer so far has been very little. Bucky Irving has looked like the real thing, but he’s been forced to do most of the work himself.
Two weeks in, Tampa Bay has already created too many questions on both sides of the ball.
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