Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a glaring roster hole that could derail their season, and it's not where many feared
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a disastrous loss one week ago during their 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. A pair of losses, actually. Wide receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (dislocated ankle) both suffered significant injuries, with Godwin expected to miss the rest of the season. Those two injuries created a five-alarm panic […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a disastrous loss one week ago during their 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. A pair of losses, actually. Wide receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (dislocated ankle) both suffered significant injuries, with Godwin expected to miss the rest of the season.
Those two injuries created a five-alarm panic among the fan base and caused several talking heads to muse about the Bucs' season being effectively done.
However, to offensive coordinator Liam Coen's credit, that's not how things played out on Sunday in a key divisional clash between the Bucs and the Atlanta Falcons. Despite losing 31-26, Tampa Bay's offense remained effective even without their two biggest weapons. Coen dialed up passing plays that got TE Cade Otton – who had 9 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns – heavily involved in the offense and got Bucky Irving and Rachaad White 7 and 5 catches each, respectively. The Bucs outgained Atlanta 432 to 394 and converted 9 of 14 third downs.
In other words, the Bucs' offense can survive their loss. However, it's becoming clearer each week that they can't survive it on the other side of the ball.
There's no shortage of blame to go around on the Bucs' defense right now. They can't generate a steady pass rush with their front four. There are too many busts in coverage outside of mostly Zyon McCollum, and the absence of Jamel Dean, who is on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, has been felt. The middle of the field has been a playground for opposing receivers and tight ends over the last month, particularly for Atlanta's pass catchers and Kirk Cousins, who's thrown for 8 touchdowns in 8 quarters against the Bucs and just six in six other games this year.
And it's that last point that's really been a huge problem for Tampa Bay, and it's no coincidence the team's complete free fall defensively started with the loss of a very underrated player in SirVocea Dennis. Dennis suffered a shoulder injury during the Bucs' 33-16 win over the Eagles. He's since been placed on injured reserve and isn't expected to return during the regular season after undergoing surgery.
ILB K.J. Britt simply hasn't done a good enough job in that spot, particularly in pass defense. His 33.1 coverage grade by Pro Football Focus on Sunday was the second lowest on the team. He allowed 4 catches on 4 targets for 44 yards with 32 coming after the catch. His season grade is 37.7 with a 32.3 coverage mark. He's allowed 20 catches on 24 targets for 226 yards for the year. That's just not going to cut it.
Since Dennis' injury, the team allowed Cousins to pass for 509 yards with 36 points. Spencer Rattler and the Saints offense (or half an offense with their injury list) put up 20, but Tampa Bay followed that by allowing 41 and 31 to Baltimore and Atlanta. And it's not just that they allowed points, but also the way that tight ends and pass catchers have had free reign over the middle of the field in a way you rarely see an NFL defense allow.
Todd Bowles is going to have to figure out how to patch up this gaping hole in the middle of his defense. Whether it's through getting J.J. Russell more snaps (if that would even help at this point), changing his scheme to compensate, or him and Jason Licht identifying and securing a potential replacement through a trade before next Tuesday's trade deadline.
The bottom line is injuries are a big and constant part of the NFL, and teams have to figure out how to compensate for them. Coen and the Bucs offense managed to do that. Now, Bowles will have to do the same to avoid his defense from continuing to carry a promising 2024 season off a cliff.
Todd Bowles is going to be under more scrutiny after bad decision comes back to bite him during Bucs-Falcons game
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has been under a lot of heat since the Baltimore Ravens matchup. The conversation has centered around his decision to keep the Bucs starters in during the final minute-and-change of the Week 7 matchup. The Bucs were down by two scores with about a minute-and-a-half to go, with […]
