The Bucs left Raymond James Stadium with more than a loss on Sunday. They left with an 0-3 record, a 23-16 defeat to the Vikings, and real concern about Baker Mayfield after he appeared to injure his throwing hand late in the game.
Tampa Bay had its chances to change the script, but the afternoon kept slipping away. The Bucs moved the ball better than Minnesota, yet penalties and mistakes kept dragging them back. By the end, the special teams damage had become impossible to ignore.
It started badly. Tampa Bay opened with a three-and-out, then watched Myles Price rip off an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown that put the Bucs in a 10-0 hole. They did manage to tie the game late in the second quarter, but they never got over the top.
When two teams pile up 17 penalties and 17 punts in one game, the football usually looks exactly like this.
There were a couple of bright spots in the mess. Ted Hurst caught a 40-yard touchdown from Mayfield in the first quarter for his first NFL score, a moment worth remembering for the rookie receiver and, maybe, for the Bucs personnel department too. Using a third-round pick on a lightly recruited wideout who ended up at Georgia State was a bold call, and so far it’s looking like a smart one.
The defense had its moments, too, especially in the third quarter. A’Shawn Robinson, who hadn’t picked off a pass in nine years, came up with a rare takeaway after Vita Vea got his second deflection of the game.
The ball bounced off a Minnesota lineman, and Robinson went low to secure it before it could hit the ground. Tampa Bay turned that turnover into a field goal.
Still, the larger issue remains the same: three weeks in, it’s hard to say what this offense really is. The Bucs are not getting much from the run game, and Mayfield doesn’t appear to be in sync with most of his receivers. Constant coordinator turnover doesn’t make life easier, but the whole operation looks muddy.
And then there’s the injury concern. In the final two minutes, Mayfield was hit by linebacker Blake Cashman while trying to force a desperation pass on fourth down. He stayed on the turf for several minutes before walking off and heading to the locker room before the game ended.
That leaves Tampa Bay with the worst kind of Sunday: a loss, an 0-3 start for the first time since 2014, and uncertainty around its quarterback.
Around the NFC South, the chaos at least offered the Bucs a little company. Cleveland had already stunned Tampa Bay a week earlier, and on Sunday the Panthers were beaten by Deshaun Watson and the Browns. The Packers also fell to 1-2 after getting blown out by the Falcons, which at least raises the question of whether Green Bay will come in alert against an NFC South team after being burned once already.
For now, though, the Bucs have bigger problems than the rest of the division.
In Other News...
Bucs Loss Exposed A Bigger Problem Than Fans Wanted To See
The Buccaneers 23-16 loss to the Vikings in Week 3 was more than just a one-score setback. Tampa Bay kept bumping into the same problems on both sides of the ball, with the offense never finding much rhythm under coordinator Zac Robinson and the defense undone at key moments, including an 86-yard punt return touchdown that tilted the game in Minnesotas favor.
Baker Mayfield finished with a 50% completion rate, one touchdown and one interception, then added a right hand injury late in the game to an already frustrating night. There were also rough stretches for players such as cornerback Jacob Parrish and right tackle Luke Goedeke, leaving the Bucs with an uncomfortable reminder that the issues exposed Sunday go well beyond a single bad sequence or a single phase of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Injury Just Raised The Stakes For A Reeling Bucs Team
Tampa Bays rough Week 3 got even messier late in the loss to Minnesota, when Baker Mayfield dislocated his thumb near the end of the game. The Buccaneers were already dealing with the sting of another defeat, and the injury to their starting quarterback quickly became the biggest concern coming out of the night.
Todd Bowles said Mayfield will undergo an MRI to get a better read on the injury, leaving the team waiting on a clearer update. Mayfield was replaced by rookie Jalon Daniels after leaving the game, and for a Bucs team trying to steady itself, the timing of the setback only adds to the pressure heading into the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Loss Exposed Problems Fans Wont Stop Arguing About
The Buccaneers latest loss did more than dent the standings - it reopened the same arguments that have followed this team for weeks. Between the defenses uneven stretches, the offenses uneven rhythm and a special teams sequence that left plenty of second-guessing behind, the game against Minnesota became the kind of all-around mess that forces a closer look at how Tampa Bay is being coached and why so many drives still seem to stall at the wrong time.
Todd Bowles now has a familiar debate on his hands, because the scrutiny is not just about one bad afternoon but about how the Bucs handled key moments through the first three quarters. Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving and a few others had their moments, but the bigger issue is whether the teams decisions and execution can keep matching up against good opponents when the game starts tightening. [Read more 🡒]