With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers off to a 1-5 start, the pressure is building for a coaching shakeup. But the change this team needs isn’t the one most people would first point to.
Todd Bowles has taken plenty of heat, and fair enough given Tampa Bay’s 4-13 stretch dating back to last season. Still, the defense he’s running has played well enough this year to keep the conversation from landing on him alone.
The real issue is on the other side of the ball, where offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has overseen an offense that looks even less effective than last year’s group - the one that got Josh Grizzard fired after just one season. Robinson is moving toward the same kind of scrutiny.
The numbers paint a bleak picture. Through six weeks, the Buccaneers are 25th in the league in scoring at 19.8 points per game and 24th in yardage at 292.7 yards per game. Only eight teams are averaging fewer than 20 points, and only nine are producing fewer than 300 yards.
That’s a step backward from last season, when Tampa Bay finished 21st in total offense at 320.4 yards per game and 18th in scoring with 22.4 points per game.
But the problem isn’t just the output. The offense has become predictable, and the passing game has been especially cautious.
In Week 6, Jalon Daniels completed 22 passes, and only four of those completions traveled more than 10 yards downfield. The entire attack feels built around short gains, with little sign of a vertical threat.
That lack of punch showed up again against Pittsburgh. The defense was dominant for three quarters on Sunday, making Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers offense work for everything.
Tampa Bay’s offense, though, didn’t do its part. The Buccaneers managed only six points across six second-half drives, and that left the defense on the field for more than 13 minutes in the fourth quarter.
It was a major factor in the collapse.
It has become a familiar pattern: the defense does enough to keep Tampa Bay in games, and the offense squanders the advantage.
Bowles’ defense is not the problem here. In fact, it has been one of the bright spots of the season.
Tampa Bay ranks fifth in total defense, is one of only five teams allowing fewer than 300 yards per game, and owns the NFL’s second-best run defense. Against the pass, the Buccaneers sit 20th.
In scoring defense, they’re in the middle of the pack at 23 points allowed per game.
Even so, a defense can only absorb so much when the offense keeps stalling, giving the ball away, and failing to put points on the board. This unit is getting worn down because it keeps having to carry the load.
Sunday was a perfect example. The Buccaneers recorded five sacks on Rodgers and added an interception, but it still wasn’t enough to win.
According to Fox Sports’ Greg Auman, teams with five or more sacks had been 11-1-1 entering Week 6, and Tampa Bay became just the second team to lose after hitting that mark. The Buccaneers had been 14-1 in those games dating back to 2020.
That’s a rough verdict on the offense. Zac Robinson’s unit has dragged this team down all season and wasted strong performances from the defense.
A change at offensive coordinator needs to be on the table, and if the Buccaneers want to try something different, Chandler Whitmer should get a look at play-calling duties. At this point, it’s hard to imagine things getting much worse.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Face Growing NFC South Pressure With Quarterback Questions Looming
The Buccaneers head to Bank of America Stadium on Sunday needing to steady themselves after a rough stretch that has left their margin for error thin in the NFC South. Tampa Bay is coming off an overtime loss and will walk into Carolina as an underdog, while the Panthers have found some momentum with three wins in their last four games.
For the Bucs, the bigger concern is the uncertainty under center, which only adds to the pressure of trying to keep pace in the division. Carolina has taken advantage of its recent run at home, and Tampa Bay has to sort out its quarterback situation quickly if it wants this trip to feel like a turning point instead of another step backward. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Loss Exposed One Frustrating Problem Fans Can't Ignore
The Buccaneers left Pittsburgh with a familiar kind of frustration, one that had little to do with effort on the defensive side of the ball. Tampa Bays defense did enough early to keep the Steelers under control, but the offense spent too much of the afternoon going backward, stacking up three-and-outs and leaving the rest of the roster to absorb the pressure of a game that never felt settled.
Riley Dixons punting became part of the conversation because field position mattered so much in a tight, ugly game, and the Bucs could not afford wasted chances once things got wobbly. There was at least one encouraging development in Walker, who kept flashing as a disruptive pass rusher with multiple sacks and pressures, but the bigger issue remains the same for a team sitting at 1-5: the defense can help set a tone, but the offense has to do more than survive. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Rodgers Just Added To The Buccaneers Ugly 1-5 Storyline
The aftermath of Tampa Bays overtime loss to Pittsburgh carried more than just another mark in the standings, because Raymond James Stadium became part of the conversation again. The Buccaneers fell 26-19 and slipped to 1-5, and the matchup offered another reminder that home-field issues have followed this team for a while, with the surface drawing scrutiny beyond what happened on the scoreboard.
Aaron Rodgers was the latest to point it out after the game, adding an unwanted layer to a season already full of frustration for Tampa Bay. The field has drawn poor reviews in the past, in part because of the extra wear from other teams and events, and every new complaint only keeps that storyline alive for a club trying to steady itself on and off the grass. [Read more 🡒]