The NFC South is already giving us a little of everything: a couple of injury questions in Tampa, a quarterback situation in Atlanta that still hasn’t been fully shared, and in Carolina, Bryce Young is looking every bit like a player who has taken command.
In Tampa, Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles didn’t sugarcoat what he saw from edge rusher Rueben Bain after a quiet second NFL game. Bowles said, “I don’t think he’s completely healthy, but at the same time, he’s good enough to play, so we’ve got to get more production there.”
Bowles also addressed wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who was limited to seven snaps in his return from injury. “He’s healthy and he’s not all the way there yet, but he’s closer to getting there. Just to get him in and try to get him juiced up and get him going was a good start.”
In Atlanta, Falcons HC Kevin Stefanski said he doesn’t have a public update on the quarterback situation. “I have a decent idea of where we’re going, but I haven’t spoken to players yet.”
Stefanski also gave a brief update on QB Tua Tagovailoa’s oblique. “We will work through what that means for this week, but he’s getting better.”
The strongest momentum in the division right now belongs to the Panthers and Bryce Young. He has been blazing out of the gate in his fourth season, carving up the Bears and Falcons in consecutive weeks. Through that stretch, Young has thrown for 648 yards, accounted for seven total touchdowns, and tossed one interception.
The level of competition matters, sure, but Young’s play has still stood out because of how he’s doing it. He’s pushing the ball downfield and showing complete command of the offense.
“It’s no surprise at all because of the games he’s had over the last couple of years, where when he puts the whole game plan together and has that understanding and ownership and the playcaller’s intent, we’ve had amazing performances,” Panthers HC Dave Canales said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “But it’s the consistency of how it’s showing up now. And then I think the biggest thing to talk about is his ownership of what we’re doing.
“And what I’ve seen from him throughout this [summer] is a lot of conversations on the side with T-Mac [ Tetairoa McMillan ], with [Jalen] Coker, with Xavier [Legette]. Darren [Waller] shows up, Tommy [Tremble], the tight ends, the backs. It’s just becoming his because I see him fine-tuning what our concepts really are.”
In Other News...
Baker Mayfield And Todd Bowles Are Feeling Heat In Tampa Bay
Two losses to open the season have put the Buccaneers in an early hole, and the frustration was easy to hear after the latest setback against the Browns. Todd Bowles and Baker Mayfield both pointed to the same problems in their postgame comments, with penalties, missed tackles and turnovers all dragging down a team that expected to look sharper out of the gate.
Minnesota is next, and the schedule is not offering much relief as Tampa Bay tries to steady itself before the situation gets any heavier. For Bowles, the challenge is cleaning up the operation quickly. For Mayfield, it is about finding answers under the kind of pressure that tends to grow fast when September starts slipping away. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Already Have A Costly Problem They Must Fix Fast
The home opener brought more frustration than relief, as the Buccaneers fell 23-19 to the Browns and slipped to 0-2 on the season. Tampa Bay had enough good moments to stay in the game, with Bucky Irving providing a spark on the ground and the run defense again holding up well, but the offense never found enough rhythm to overcome the mistakes piling up around it.
What stood out most was how the second-half pass defense unraveled, leaving the Bucs vulnerable when they needed to tighten things up. Baker Mayfields interception, along with penalties and missed tackles, made an already close game even harder to manage, and it left Tampa Bay with an early-season problem it cannot afford to ignore for long. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Already Have 3 Early Problems Fans Can't Ignore
The Buccaneers second loss of the season brought a few early warning signs into focus, and the biggest one sits on offense. Baker Mayfield and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson have not yet found the kind of rhythm Tampa Bay needs through the air, and the passing game looked short on answers again against Cleveland. For a team that has built much of its identity on staying competitive in tight games, that lack of consistency is hard to ignore this early in the year.
There were other problem spots, too, including a pass-rushing effort from Rueben Bain that didnt match expectations and a tackling day from linebacker Alex Anzalone that may put his role under more scrutiny. Chase McLaughlin was one of the few bright spots, handling his chances cleanly and drilling a 59-yard field goal that went down as the third-longest in team history, but even that kind of reliability only softens the bigger concern around how many issues the Buccaneers are already sorting through. [Read more 🡒]