The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter Week 2 with a chance to wipe away a shaky start, and the setup could hardly be cleaner. After falling to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, Tampa Bay gets the Cleveland Browns and Deshaun Watson, who did himself no favors at his media availability.
According to Spencer German of 92.3 The Fan radio, Watson complained that the media seems to build him up only to tear him down, and suggested he is being judged like someone who should throw for "400 yards and five touchdowns every week." The line landed poorly, especially after a Week 1 showing that did little to quiet any criticism.
Watson’s numbers against the Jacksonville Jaguars looked passable on paper: 72% completions, 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But the production came with the game already tilted hard against Cleveland, which lost 34-10 and trailed by as many as 31 points.
His interception was described as one of the most egregious turnovers of Week 1, and Watson was sacked five times. Pro Football Focus credited all five of those sacks to him holding the ball too long.
That is why Tampa Bay should see this as a game it needs to control from start to finish. The Bucs had their own problems against Joe Burrow and the Bengals, but there is at least some context there: the pass rush is still developing, the secondary is not built to consistently handle a deep Bengals receiving group, and rookies Rueben Bain Jr. and Josiah Trotter are in major roles in the middle of the defense.
Cleveland does not present that same kind of obstacle. The Browns have some promising young skill players, but Watson has been so bad that Tampa Bay would be wasting an opportunity if it did not take full advantage.
The broader picture around the NFC South only makes the matchup look better for the Buccaneers. The Saints let a chance at a major upset slip away with untimely turnovers, the Panthers surrendered nearly 60 points in their home opener, and the Falcons’ Cooper Rush-led offense may have looked worse than what Cleveland showed in Week 1.
A convincing win would also help Tampa Bay push past the mess from its own opener, where Baker Mayfield fumbles and defensive lapses left an ugly impression. If the Buccaneers want to make real noise later in the season, games like this are the ones they have to put away - and put away emphatically.
With Watson sounding flat and Cleveland’s mood already looking rough just one week into the season, Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers may not find a more winnable game all year.
In Other News...
Bucs Loss Took On New Meaning After What Happened To Joe Burrow
The Buccaneers walked off the field in Week 1 with a loss to Cincinnati, but the game took on a different tone once Joe Burrows postgame soreness became part of the conversation. Burrow guided the Bengals to a 33-27 win over Tampa Bay, throwing for 254 yards and a touchdown while also taking off for 20 yards, even as he absorbed two significant hits along the way.
For Tampa Bay, the result now sits beside the bigger question of Burrows condition after back tightness and shoulder discomfort showed up in practice later in the week. Burrow has said he expects to play against Houston in Week 2, which only sharpens the sense that the Bucs were part of a hard-fought opener that may have left a lasting mark beyond the final score. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Evans Already Got What He Was Missing In Tampa
After 12 seasons in Tampa Bay, Mike Evans has quickly found the kind of role he was looking for with the San Francisco 49ers. In his first game with his new team, he was targeted often on third downs, caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, and immediately looked like a player the offense intended to lean on rather than fit in around.
For Evans, the move was about chasing another Super Bowl while staying central to the game plan, and early signs suggest the 49ers are willing to make that happen. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has already praised the way Evans has fit and pointed to an offense built to play to his strengths, which makes the next stretch worth watching for anyone who followed his long run in Tampa. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Just Gave The Bucs An Early Problem They Feared
The Buccaneers left Week 1 with a familiar kind of frustration: a competitive offense, a chance to win, and too many giveaways to survive. Tampa Bay fell 33-27 to the Bengals, undone by four fumbles in all, three of them coming from Baker Mayfield in a game where the Bucs still managed to move the ball without star wide receiver Mike Evans.
Todd Bowles didnt hide from the obvious issue afterward, making it clear the quarterback has to take better care of the football. Even so, the coach also pointed to the way the offense functioned and sounded encouraged by what it could become, which is why the turnovers sting so much more than a typical opener. The Bucs can live with a few early-season growing pains, but they know the margin for error gets thin fast when the ball keeps hitting the turf. [Read more 🡒]