The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened Raymond James with a bang. It took a whole 11 seconds for the Bucs to be up 7-0 on the scoreboard. While the final score shows a close game, it wasn’t all that close.
Just as I said last week on the Red Flag podcast, the defense stepped up. The offense continued to do what they do, but there are a few improvements that need to be made for the Bucs to continue to win. Regardless, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 2-0, one of only two NFC teams with the same record, and await the Steelers on Monday night football.
The Offense: The Good
Stat: 75
While the season is still young the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are second in the league in points scored behind only the Chiefs with 75. There are many of opinions out there as to why that is, but I’ll make it simple: It’s a combination of everything. Play calling, execution, practice, familiarity the list goes on. I personally credit play calling more than anything else, but more on that another time. Whether it is play calling or any of the others, all that matters is the Buccaneers are winning and scoring. At this rate, if the Buccaneers score 23 points per game for the rest of the season, they will break the franchise single season scoring record. It’s quite doable, credit whatever you think it is, just be happy the Bucs offense has played incredibly well so far.
The Bad
Stat: 1.9
That was the yards per carry of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers rushing attack on Sunday. That simply wont get it done. The Buccaneers finished with 24 minutes in the time of possession battle primarily because of that 1.9 average on the ground. The Buccaneers scoring drives in the first half accounted for a grand total of two minutes and seven seconds. The Buccaneers need to run the ball better against good teams. Putting the defense out there as many times as they did with so many young players will hurt the Buccaneers one day. This Eagles offense has struggled in weeks one and now, two. The Buccaneers took advantage this week, but that may not always be the case.
The Defense: The Good
Stat: 33%
The defense played better Sunday. Although they allowed 21 points, they were on the field for a 19 minutes in the first half. In 100 degree heat, missing their two starting cornerbacks they only allowed the Eagles to 33% on third down. Once the offense got them some rest, they tightened up and got stops when they needed to. This defense has been solid so far this season. Week one to week two, they showed steady improvement. Expect them to be even better in week three against the Steelers.
The Bad
Stat: 184
The defense performed well, but once again two players on offense accounted for the lions share of the offense. Zach Ertz and Nelson Agholor accounted for 184 yards of offense. The stat is a bit of a stretch because I think the defense played well, but that is back to back weeks that the Bucs have trouble containing the main weapons on the opposing offense. This was an offense without Alshon Jeffrey, then again, the Bucs miss Vernon Hargreaves and Brent Grimes. As much as the offense played well, the defense did enough to hold keep the game in the win column. Mike Smith deserves some credit that most fans probably wont give him.
