2-Point Conversion: The Sky Isn’t Falling, Bucs Fans

The sky is not falling despite the frustrating loss.

You do realize Tampa Bay is 6-3, right? The same record as the Lions, the Bears and the Chargers. Also the same record as the Bills, the Bucs’ next opponent, who got walloped in Miami by the Dolphins, 30-13.

By the way, Tom Brady and the 2020 Bucs had a 6-3 record after nine games, too. Just to keep it in context.

If this team loses the next two games at Buffalo and at Los Angeles, Tampa Bay will still only be 6-5 – not below .500 like they were when they’ve had three or more losses in a row like the past two seasons. And if the Bucs do lose to the Bills and the Rams and come home and beat the Cardinals they’ll be 7-5.

Guess what the team’s record was in 2020 after 12 games? If you said 7-5, you would be correct.

And we know how that season ended.

Now, I’m not predicting that this year’s Bucs are going to win the Super Bowl. They’ll have to get healthy and stay healthy down the stretch to have a real chance.

But understand that the Bucs’ three losses this year have been to the 8-2 Patriots, who lead the AFC East, the 6-2 Eagles, who lead the NFC East, and the 6-3 Lions, who are half a game behind the Packers in the NFC North.

Tampa Bay is still three games above .500 and the team still has a game and a half lead over Carolina, which lost at home to New Orleans, 17-7. Oh, and by the way, the 5-5 Panthers are 1.5 games ahead of the 3-6 Falcons, who lost in Germany to the Colts on Sunday morning. That makes the Bucs three games ahead of the Falcons.

Does the Bucs offense have to execute better? Absolutely. Grizzard has to call better plays than he did when the Bucs opted to pass the ball on third-and-3 and fourth-and-3. The offensive line has to block better, especially on third down where Tampa Bay was 5-of-13 against New England.

And Mayfield must be more accurate. He wasn’t awful in general on Sunday, completing 65% of his passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns. But Mayfield was awful on third downs.

On the 10 third downs where Mayfield dropped back to pass, he was sacked once and completed just five of his nine passes. But only two of those completions resulted in conversions – a 10-yard touchdown catch by Tez Johnson at the end of the third quarter and an 11-yard catch on third-and-10 on Tampa Bay’s final drive.

That’s why Mayfield was pissed after the game, and pointed at himself first when demanding that the offense play better.

“[We] just did not execute good enough,” Mayfield said. “[We have] to do all the little things right in critical moments and we did not do that today. That’s what I told the team and told the offense after the game. At some point, when the stuff comes up during the week, whether it’s mistakes or things we talk about and then it shows up on Sundays, you have to have some pride about you. You [have] to have the fear of that failure and messing up for your teammates when we talk about something, you [have] to have better responsibility and accountability for the guys around you and get it fixed.

“In tight ball games like this, when you play a good team like the Patriots, little things will get you beat. That was the case for us on offense today. Case in point, it starts with me; [I missed] some throws there that I would like to have back, some more completions. The low ball that I gave Cade [Otton] towards the end there, if I would have stuck it on his chest, he probably would have gotten the first down, instead of having to get into a short yardage situation. It starts with me, but everybody has got to have pride about it too.”

After the game, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was as pissed as I’ve seen him all season. His defense only came up with one sack and one takeaway, which wasn’t enough to beat a good Patriots team.

The Bucs defense gave up four touchdowns and did not hold New England to field goals, including on the last play of the first half when Stefon Diggs caught a 1-yard score on fourth-and-goal. Tampa Bay’s secondary gave up two explosive passes – a 72-yard touchdown by Kyle Williams and 54-yard catch by Mack Hollins. And the defense surrendered two explosive touchdown runs in the second half by rookie TreVeyon Henderson, covering 55 yards and 69 yards.

“There were four [explosive plays] and in obvious situations that we didn’t make,” Bowles said. “Obviously, we didn’t play it well enough. We definitely didn’t coach it well enough – I definitely didn’t coach it well enough. It starts with me, and those things can’t happen if you’re playing against a good team like that, or any team in this league. We gave them up and it was inexcusable on our part. Bad on the coaching, bad on the players.”

The Bucs were pissed after this loss and they should be. And it’s okay for y’all to be pissed, too.

Just know that this team has plenty of resolve and there are eight games left in the season.

“I’m hoping our guys do get pissed off about this,” Mayfield said. “This isn’t the end of our season. I know that. We have a very important game ahead of us. Games like this, when you don’t win them — it should sting. It should really, really hurt.”

That’s the right message to send. Let’s see if that message is received in Buffalo next Sunday.

STATEMENT 2. Bucs Running Game Appears To Be Back

Despite playing with two reserve guards for most of the game – Mike Jordan at left guard for the injured Ben Bredeson, who pulled his hamstring on the first drive on Sunday, and Dan Feeney at right guard – the Bucs ran for 113 yards against the league’s top rushing defense. The Patriots entered Sunday allowing an average of just 75.3 yards per game. And New England set an NFL record for not allowing a running back to reach 50 yards rushing in the first nine games of the season.

That changed on Sunday as Sean Tucker ran for 53 yards on nine carries (5.9 avg.) and Rachaad White ran for 38 yards on 10 carries (3.8 avg.). Wide receivers Kam Johnson and Sterling Shepard each had an 11-yard end around, which was a nice, effective wrinkle from offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard.

“We definitely had a lot of efficient runs,” Bucs center Graham Barton said. “We’re a good running team. Last year didn’t just disappear. Have we had some troubles this year? Absolutely. We’ve had some adversity. Having Luke Goedeke back out there is a big help – just the enforcer that he is and the mindset he brings.

“I thought we game-planned them really well. We had the answers. When it came down to those moments where we need a big play and execute, we just didn’t today.”

The return of Goedeke was a welcomed sight and if the Bucs can continue to gain over 100 yards on the ground, that bodes well for the games down the stretch. Tucker’s 18-yard run in the second half was the longest run by any Tampa Bay running back this season.

We need to see more of Tucker until Bucky Irving returns.

Tampa Bay hadn’t had a 100-yard rushing game since Week 6 when the Bucs ran for 104 yards versus the 49ers. Over the last two games against the Lions and the Saints, the team has averaged just 64.5 yards on the ground.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1. Why Does Todd Bowles Continue To Sub Out Jamel Dean For Benjamin Morrison?

I don’t know. I think it’s ridiculous, and it actually cost the Bucs a touchdown on Sunday versus the Patriots. If Todd Bowles wants to sub a cornerback out to give second-round pick Benjamin Morrison some reps, it should be Zyon McCollum – not Jamel Dean, who is having a Pro Bowl-caliber season. Dean leads the team with a career-high three interceptions in addition to two forced fumbles and his first NFL sack.

Meanwhile, McCollum, who was given a lucrative, three-year contract extension worth $16 million in August, has yet to record an interception or be involved in a takeaway of any kind. McCollum also gave up a 54-yard catch to Bills receiver Mack Hollins in the fourth quarter on Sunday. But with McCollum staying in Tampa Bay for the next few years and Dean likely leaving in free agency after the season, there are some obvious politics at play.

Morrison took a poor angle and gave up a 72-yard touchdown catch-and-run to Kyle Williams in the first quarter, and then was also flagged for pass interference on New England’s next drive. Bowles is trying to get Morrison some experience this season in order to get him ready to start in Dean’s place in 2026. It makes sense in theory, but not when it comes at the cost of giving up touchdowns in reality – especially at the expense of taking the play-making Dean off the field.

Morrison’s time to develop should have come in training camp and the preseason, but he missed an entire month of camp – and all three preseason games – due to a hamstring injury. That was unfortunate, but now the Bucs’ 2025 train has left the station and is roaring down the tracks. Slowing down the train just so Morrison can hop on can be detrimental – and it certainly was against the Patriots.

Yet don’t expect Bowles to change his substitution pattern anytime soon.

“We’ve been putting him in all year, so the fact that he gave up this play in this game, there’s no reason to single him out,” Bowles said. “We’re getting him reps and Dean knows we get him reps – he gets reps. We have a system that we go with. The fact that we trust him to make plays… he gave up a play, it doesn’t matter who’s in there. If you give up a play, we’re not going to give up on you. But he gave up a play and he’ll learn from it, and he’ll be better.”

QUESTION 2. How Close To Returning Are The Injured Bucs?

I think running back Bucky Irving is pretty close to returning. He was seen running before the game on the field as well as down the tunnel under the stadium after the game. I think his foot is pretty close to being healed. The biggest issue for Irving might be his shoulder. He was seen in some social media posts in a shoulder harness a few weeks after he injured it against the Eagles in Week 4.

Irving has now missed five straight games due to injury, but the Bucs didn’t put him on injured reserve, thinking he could make it back without missing four games. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. Tampa Bay has missed his heart, determination, tough running style and big-play ability.

Tampa Bay did the same thing with wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. by not placing him on injured reserve, thinking the pain in his fibula would subside and that he would be back without missing four games. But Godwin has been out of action since Week 5 at Seattle, and he’s now missed four games in a row.

I have some real concerns about when Godwin will be able to return to action and just how effective he will be once he does suit up again. Godwin looked like a mere mortal in the two games he’s played in this season, catching three passes for 26 yards in each game versus Philadelphia and Seattle. I addressed Godwin’s injury in a recent Pewter Pulse video you should check out.

It was also nice seeing defensive tackle Calijah Kancey on the sidelines without a sling. Kancey had surgery to repair to a torn pectoral muscle he suffered in Week 2 and was in a sling for around two months, so the fact he’s out of it is a good sign. Kancey’s season appears to be over, as he was placed on injured reserve.

But if he makes enough progress and the team advances deep into the playoffs, there may be a chance he could return like defensive tackle Vita Vea did for the 2020 NFC Championship Game. We’ll see how Kancey continues to heal.

I didn’t see outside linebacker Haason Reddick on the sidelines, but he appears to be a few weeks away from returning from his ankle injury.

Don’t expect left guard Ben Bredeson to return to action anytime soon. Bredeson suffered a right hamstring injury on the Bucs’ first drive versus the Patriots and he was walking with a very noticeable limp after the game.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

PREDICTION 1. Bucs Will Win One Of The Next Two Games

Don’t ask me which one, but I feel like Tampa Bay will prevail at either Buffalo or Los Angeles against the Rams. Just call it a gut feeling. If I had to guess, it would be next week against the Bills, who are coming off a 30-13 loss to the lowly Dolphins in Miami. The Rams beat the 49ers, 42-26, and I’m not sure Tampa Bay has the firepower to keep up with Matthew Stafford and L.A.

PREDICTION 2. Baker Mayfield Is Still In The NFL MVP Conversation

If Baker Mayfield can go head-to-head with Josh Allen and win next week versus the Bills, and look good on Sunday Night Football against the Rams, he could be right back in the thick of the NFL MVP race. Mayfield has cooled off with less than stellar showings in the loss at Detroit and the win at New Orleans. But he threw three touchdown passes against the Patriots and now has 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions on the season. Don’t count Mayfield out, especially if the Bucs finish 11-6 or 12-5 and he maintains that fantastic TD:INT ratio.