The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only won three of their eight NFL games this season. On Thursday, the Baltimore Ravens outclassed the Bucs 27-22, inflicting even more pain on the LV Super Bowl champions. That was Tampa’s third consecutive loss and fifth defeat in the last six games.
Because they played on Thursday, the Bucs will now have a longer break before facing reigning Super Bowl winners, the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, 6 November. And Bucs coach Todd Bowles said he will use the extended break to discuss what happened with the Bucs and find solutions, which might include ringing the changes, something he dismissed only two weeks ago.
Struggling Offense
The first thing on Bowles’ agenda will be to decide whether Byron Leftwich, the Bucs’ offensive coordinator, will continue to organize the team’s offense, considering the Bucs have been struggling in that department this season.
Against the Ravens, Tampa once again failed to get more than 50 rushing yards, something that has happened three times already this season, making the Bucs the worst NFL team in that segment.
The fact that Tampa resorted to punts on five straight possessions tells you all you need to know about their struggling offense.
Interestingly, the 22 points the Bucs scored against the Rams also seem to be their ceiling this season. Tampa has scored more than 22 points on just one occasion and that was also in a defeat, against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Worst Run of Results in Brady’s Career
Tom Brady has been a shadow of his former self too. The current losing run of three consecutive games is the worst run for any team led by Brady. The Ravens’ defeat also meant Brady now has two under .500 games as a starter, a record he would like to forget and one he is experiencing for the first time in his career.
When asked about Tampa’s poor performances, Brady said that they would have to “try to figure out everything.” The quarterback added that the Bucs would use that little extra time they have to evaluate things and see what they could do better in future games.
Frustration and “Darkness” in the Locker Room
Unlike Brady, who tried to look at things with a cool head, linebacker Lavonte David’s disappointment with recent performances was evident. David said that things were very difficult for the Bucs and that it was very frustrating to be a Bucs player right now because they knew they had the talent to win games, but they kept on losing them.
David added that three weeks ago they were planning to win the three games they had lost and that for the Bucs, it wasn’t just about “looking in the mirror” anymore.
The linebacker said he urged his teammates to “dig” in their soul and “pull one out,” as whatever they thought they were doing until now wasn’t getting the job done. He also issued a rallying cry to the Bucs and asked them “to find a way to get better, someway, somehow.”
That “somehow” might now mean changes in the roster and coaching staff. It is up to Tampa coach Bowles to decide whether he will change things up or go for something less drastic.
Bowles said that, at the moment, it was “still dark” for the Bucs, and until they won games consistently, it would continue to be that way. However, he emphasized that they could get out of the dark, but Tampa coaches and players had a lot of work to do.
