The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reached a point that feels awfully familiar in September: losses that pile up, frustration that lingers, and an offense that keeps leaving more questions than answers. After three games, the Bucs are staring at an 0-3 start, and for a team that has now gone 2-10 in its last 12 games dating back to last season, the mood around this team is hard to miss.
It starts with the offense, or at least what’s supposed to be the offense. Three weeks in, Zac Robinson’s unit still doesn’t have a clear identity.
You can spot individual plays, sure, but the bigger picture remains blurry. What does this group do well?
What is it trying to force defenses to defend? Those answers haven’t shown up yet, and the result is an attack that feels overhyped and underdelivering.
That matters even more now that Baker Mayfield is out for at least three weeks. His MRI brought some relief - no fracture, no tendon tear, no surgery expected - but the Bucs will have to move forward without him for a stretch.
That means Jalon Daniels is set to become the first undrafted rookie ever to start at quarterback in the Bucs’ 51 seasons. It also marks the first time in eight years Tampa Bay has had to change quarterbacks during a season.
With the team already 0-3 and heading the wrong way, there’s at least some curiosity about what one week with Daniels will look like.
Mayfield’s absence also puts a spotlight on a contract situation that suddenly looks different than it did a few Sundays ago. The idea of extending him once made sense. Now, after three bad games, a deal worth $55 million per year feels a lot bigger than it did before the season got away from Tampa Bay.
The problems around him haven’t helped. The offensive line was supposed to be the fix - finally healthy, finally intact, finally able to stabilize things.
Instead, Mayfield has already been sacked 13 times and pressured 38 times in three games. That’s more than a third of last year’s sack total before October even arrives.
The Bucs had the intended five together, and on paper the group still looks like one of the better lines in football. On the field, that paper hasn’t blocked anybody yet.
And then there’s the way drives keep dying on their own. On one sequence, Bucky Irving ran to the 3-yard line, only for a holding call on Cody Mauch to push the Bucs back.
After that, Mayfield hit Irving for five yards, and another holding penalty on Graham Barton moved the ball even farther away. What should have been first-and-goal from the 7 became first-and-goal from the 27.
No big defensive stop was needed. Tampa Bay did all the damage itself before Chase McLaughlin eventually kicked the field goal.
McLaughlin, meanwhile, has become one of the few constants. After going 4-of-4 against the Browns, he was 3-of-3 against the Vikings and is now 9-of-9 on field goals this season.
He has accounted for 23 of the Bucs’ 35 points over the last two weeks. At this rate, Tampa Bay may need to start building the offense around him.
Chris Godwin Jr. had one of those Sundays that summed up the whole thing in a hurry. He finished with three catches for 25 yards on four targets, and the one time he briefly escaped what was described as the FBI’s witness protection program, he turned it into an 85-yard touchdown. A holding call on Luke Goedeke wiped it out, and back into hiding he went.
The Bucs aren’t the only NFC South team having a hard time at home. The division is 0-5 in its own buildings this season, with Tampa Bay 0-2 at Raymond James.
Nobody else in the division has managed a home win either, which makes the whole thing feel even stranger. The secret to winning in the NFC South, apparently, is leaving home.
There’s plenty of misery to go around. New Orleans led the Raiders 27-22 entering the fourth quarter before its final four possessions ended in a fumble, interception, fumble and fumble.
The Raiders won 35-27. That doesn’t make Tampa Bay feel better, exactly, but it does mean the division’s pain is being shared widely.
Green Bay’s offense is in a similar search for answers. After the Packers lost to Atlanta, Matt LaFleur said, “Right now, I don’t know what we’re doing well offensively.”
That line could fit Tampa Bay just as easily. The Packers have scored 56 points through three games, while the Bucs have 62.
Green Bay is 10-of-36 on third down. Tampa Bay is 14-of-43.
Both teams head into Sunday needing to figure out what they actually do well.
At some point, though, the explanation has to come back to coaching. Much of the staff around Todd Bowles is different from last season, so it isn’t fair to pin the last 10 losses in 12 games on the exact same assistants.
But Bowles is the head coach. He’s the constant.
Players hold. Players miss throws.
Players miss blocks. All true.
Still, when a team expected to contend keeps losing and keeps looking this bad, coaching has to be part of the answer. Put players in position to succeed.
Fix what’s broken. Have a plan.
Bowles said Sunday the Bucs are only one game out of first place. The math works.
He made a similar point in 2023 when the Bucs were 4-7, though that team at least had four wins. These Bucs don’t have one.
Not yet.
In Other News...
Vikings Win May Have Changed The Buccaneers Season Fast
Baker Mayfields thumb injury has put the Buccaneers in an early-season spot they hoped to avoid after a Week 3 matchup with the Vikings that now carries more weight than the final score. Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb and is expected to miss at least three weeks, leaving Tampa Bay to move ahead without its starting quarterback while the offense adjusts on the fly.
Rookie backup Jalon Daniels finished the game after Mayfield went down and now steps into the spotlight as the fill-in. Todd Bowles and Bruce Arians have both weighed in publicly on the injury and on Mayfields playing style, adding another layer to a situation that could quickly shape how the Buccaneers navigate the next stretch of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Offense Just Took Another Hit They Couldnt Afford
The Buccaneers offense has already been stretched thin by Baker Mayfields thumb injury, and now it has taken another hit with wide receiver Jalen McMillan expected to miss 6-8 weeks after an MRI revealed a sprained PCL. Tampa Bay has been trying to keep its attack afloat without its starting quarterback, and losing another key pass catcher only adds to the pressure on a unit that has had to absorb one setback after another.
McMillans injury is a frustrating one for both the team and the player, especially with his early career already marked by missed time. For a Buccaneers offense trying to stay steady while Mayfield is out for at least three weeks, the timing could hardly be worse, and it leaves even more uncertainty around how the group will hold up in the coming stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Make Necessary Roster Move To Avoid A Safety Depth Squeeze
The Buccaneers made a practical early-season move at safety by signing Ifeatu Melifonwu to a one-year contract after using him on the practice squad and elevating him for the first three games. With the NFL limiting how many times a player can be elevated from the practice squad, Tampa Bay had to get Melifonwu onto the active roster if it wanted to keep him in the mix.
A roster spot cleared up with wide receiver Jalen McMillan likely headed to injured reserve, giving the Bucs the flexibility to make the switch without creating another squeeze elsewhere. For a team trying to manage its depth carefully in the opening stretch, keeping Melifonwu around became the priority, and the timing of McMillans status made the move possible. [Read more 🡒]