The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell humiliatingly to the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon. A touchdown in this game favored the Bucs, and I even predicted this would be a rout. Vegas and I were both very, very wrong. The Broncos would torch Tampa by 19 points, and the game felt out of reach by halftime. The Denver defense stuffed the high-flying Buccaneer offense, and they only scored one touchdown the whole game. The impressive defensive performance from last weekend was left in Detroit as the Bucs made Bo Nix look like a top-ten quarterback. If this Tampa squad wants to make it to the playoffs, they'll need to win easy games like this. They underestimated the Broncos and let them stomp all over them. The game was lost before they even realized what happened. There's a sour taste in the air in Tampa this week, and some profound changes will need to be made to fix it.
Baker Mayfield Falls to Earth
After an outstanding start to the season, Mayfield has returned to mediocre play. To be fair to him, he did play a top-five passing defense, but good quarterbacks are supposed to play well, no matter who they're up against. Mayfield couldn't perform well against this great defense. He ended the game with 163 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception and was sacked seven times. This was a fall from grace from his opening weekend performance and even his performance from last week. He also wasn't very elusive this week. He had zero rushing attempts, and while Mayfield is not a rushing quarterback, I think this offense would still benefit by having him run a few designed QB rushes. Despite his lack of rushing, Mayfield still received a beating. Mayfield was brought down seven times on Sunday and hit nine times. It was a pitiful performance by the Buc's offensive line. They desperately need Luke Goedeke to return from injury because it's getting ugly.
The Broncos' leader in sacks was a 26-year-old former USFL player playing his first-ever NFL game. Dondrea Tillman sacked Baker Mayfield twice and hit him three times. For all we know, Tillman could be the next Von Miller, but for now, I will probably lean towards probably not. Tillman was rushing from the same side that Aiden Hutchinson did when he racked up five sacks against the Bucs last week. The issue is clear, and it needs to be addressed immediately. I understand that injuries are out of the Buccaneer's control, but they cannot keep putting Justin Skule out there. Goedeke may be good to go next week, but if he's not, or heaven forbid, he suffers another injury, the Bucs need to find a better solution at backup tackle. The test won't get easier for this offensive line next week because they'll face the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles always have a great defensive line and could feast on the Bucs next Sunday.
Feed Irving!!
For weeks, I've been singing praises for Bucky Irving as the starting running back. Each week, he continues to prove why he deserves it. On only nine carries, Bucky Irving ran for seventy yards. He had one run that broke out for thirty-two yards. Irving finally received the majority of the rushing attempts this week. Rachaad White only had six carries for seventeen yards. While it's promising that Irving got the bulk of the carries, I still think it's insufficient. I want Irving to get about twelve to fifteen carries in a game to see the maximum of his potential. I thought this would've been the perfect game for Irving to get a load like this since the Broncos had a bottom-ten rushing defense, but that was not the case. The Bucs opted to throw the ball thirty-three times against a top passing defense and only run the ball seventeen times. It's fair to say that the offensive attack was so imbalanced because the Broncos got ahead fast, and the Bucs had to pass the ball to catch up. I understand that, but the passing game wasn't working, so let's see more runs with Irving.
Now, what should we do with Rachaad White? I still like White as a player, and I think he adds great production and ability to the passing game. However, Rachaad White has yet to make a significant impact as a runner in his career. Averaging two yards a carry is just flat-out unacceptable, and the change needs to be made. White can still get a few carries in a game, but as long as Bucky Irving receives twice as many. I believe the Bucs should use White like the Patriots used James White. White was a running back for the New England Patriots for many years and had a successful career. However, he will be remembered more for what he did as a receiver because of how the Patriots used him. In his prime, White would have more receptions than rushing attempts. In some seasons, he would have nearly double the amount of receiving targets as he did rushing attempts. That's the future I see Rachaad White having, and I think it's still a great future for him and this team.
Defensive Collapse
The Bucs are down many key defense pieces but still underperformed. The Denver Broncos had one of the worst offenses in the league coming into the game, and they looked like a top-five group against Tampa. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix was horrible in his first two games, but against the Bucs, he looked like the best QB of the 2024 draft. Nix finished the afternoon with career highs in passer rating, completion percentage, and rushing yards. He racked up 216 passing yards, was sacked zero times, and didn't throw an interception for the first time all season. He did whatever he wanted to do to this helpless and injured Tampa defense. Bo Nix was relatively untouched the whole night, and that's a problem. Yaya Diaby had an off day, and the Bucs desperately missed their interior linemen, Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey. Both of them were sidelined due to injury. There's no clear timetable for when they will return, but the Bucs had better hope it's ASAP.
The defensive backs took a considerable step back from last week's performance. Bo Nix opened the game, completing four straight pass attempts to march the Broncos down to the three-yard line. The Bucs' corners struggled to cover Courtland Sutton during the whole game. Sutton Utilized his size to his advantage by boxing out smaller defenders. Sutton caught seven passes for sixty-eight yards on the day. Sutton wasn't the only one giving the defense problems. The whole Broncos receiving corps seemed to be getting open on every play. Bo Nix was hitting wide-open pass after wide-open pass, ending the first half 17/20. Watching the defense play last weekend was very disappointing, and it's a massive blow to the outlook of this early season. Luckily, it is still very early, and the Bucs still have time to figure things out. They're still missing a lot of key players, and their return will certainly help the defense improve.
Up Next: Another Playoff Rematch, The Philadelphia Eagles
Next weekend, the Bucs face a familiar opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles and Bucs matched up in the wild-card round of the 2023 playoffs, where Tampa took home the win. This is the second playoff rematch in three weeks for the Bucs after getting sweet revenge on the Detroit Lions. The Eagles are also sitting at 2-1 but looked much stronger than the Bucs this weekend after taking down the red-hot Saints. The Eagles have a solid offensive and defensive line, so Tampa needs to be ready for that this weekend, or else we could have another ugly performance. Heads are still down after the collapse against the Broncos, but all it takes is one win to get back on track.
Final Score: Denver Broncos 26, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7
Bastable's Three Stars:
1st Star: Bucky Irving (9 carries, 70 Yards, 32 Yard Rush)
2nd: Star: Lavonte David (8 Tackles, 1 Forced Fumble)
3rd Star: Tykee Smith (6 Tackles, 1 TFL, 1 Pass Deflection)
Main Image via
Commentaires