5 Thoughts
- The New York Jets are better than you think, and anyone who expected a 45-0 win has the NFL confused with college football. That said, the road gets muddy from here. Six of the next eight Bucs games are against playoff contenders.
2. You can gripe about the officials all you want, but not one of them was the annoyance that analyst Jonathan Vilma was.
3. I still say it's a valid debate whether the Bucs' offensive line on Sunday was as talented as the team's first offensive line, which was shut out five times. That one had Mike Current, who started 169 games, Steve Young (not that one), Howard Fest, Tom Alward and Dan Ryczek. Together, they started 58 games for the Bucs. Of course, they were all gone the next year.
4. It's a good thing for the Bucs that money spent on bandages doesn't count against the salary cap.
5. So with Tristan Wirfs, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Luke Goedeke, Jalen McMillan, Cody Mauch, Calijah Clancey and assorted others, how much are the Bucs playing people not to play?
5 Comments
(From Todd Bowles' Day-After Press Conference)
(On if there is an update on Mike Evans): "Not yet. He's going to get an MRI tomorrow. Right now, they’re deeming it as low grade, but we'll see when it comes out."
(On if he can identify the reason for the struggles from special teams unit to start the season): "We're playing with a lot of different guys every week, especially on the field-goal team. You lose your entire offensive line, pretty much, you're playing with new guys each week at different spots. So, that's going to take some work to get everybody on the same page. We’ve just got to be sharper there."
(On OLB YaYa Diaby leading the NFL in quarterback pressures in Week 3, and if he expects more sacks from Diaby this season): “He'll play hard. The pressures are the big thing. Sacks are hard, depending on how long the quarterback holds the football. You can't put a price on sacks when you're getting a lot of pressure. Sometimes you get there, sometimes you don't, and you still have a heck of a rush. That's just part of it. He's just got to keep continuing to hone his craft and get better, and the sacks will come."
(On utilizing a heavy blitz rate in the first half against the New York Jets, and whether they deviated from that in the second half): "No. I thought we missed more tackles as they got five-yard checkdowns. I thought we got tired, and the heat index got to us a little bit, and I thought it showed on one of those drives."
(On WR Emeka Egbuka’s start to the season, and if Bowles has ever seen a rookie come in and start contributing the way he has): "Right now, we don't even consider him a rookie. He's been doing it so much in practice, and [with] the details of his work, that we had kind of expected it from him here in the building. I think outside, everybody's seeing it for the first time. It’s a little early for Rookie-of-the-Year type of things [but] if he can do that for 16 or 17 weeks, we'll be happy."
Game Balls
Offense: Should we change the name of this award to the Mayfield cup? As long as the Bucs keep riding him to victory in the final moments, it's his honor.
Defense: Jamel Dean isn't a popular player, but his 55-yard interception return was a huge play.
Special teams: Chase McLaghlin bounced back with five field goals. Yes, he had a kick blocked. But isn't the line responsible for blocking?
Grades
Quarterback: Mayfield was sacked only once, which is a miracle in itself. And he led yet another comeback. Grade: A.
Running back: Bucky Irving was running behind a ramshackle line, too. Grade: B.
Receivers: On second thought, the Bucs should have traded up to be sure they got Emeka Egbuka. A shame about Mike Evans' injury. Grade: B+.
Offensive line: Yes, those guys deserve some credit for fiestiness. But, no, they weren't very good. Grade: F.
Defensive line: The Jets ran for just 99 yards. Not enough pass rush except for the blitz. Grade: C.
Linebackers: Lavonte David missed some tackles, but he made some, too. Grade: B-.
Secondary: Yes, David led the team in tackles. But four of the next five tacklers were defensive backs. Of course they were too soft in the fourth quarter. Grade: C+.
Special teams: McLaughlin was great, but Riley Dixon was 10 yards under his average. Grade: B.
Fast Starts
1979 3-0 10-6, playoffs
1997 3-0 10-6, playoffs
2000 3-0 10-6, playoffs
2005 3-0 11-5, playoffs
2025 3-0 ---
Bucs QB 4th-Quarter Comebacks
(With Bucs only)
15 Doug Williams
13 Tom Brady
13 Trent Dilfer
11 Jameis Winston
10 Josh Freeman
7 Baker Mayfield
Rookie Wide Receivers
- Tetairoa McMillan, Carolina 14-226 0
2. Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay 14-181 3
3. Travis Hunter, Jacksonville 10-76 0
4. Matthew Golden, Green Bay 6-68 0
5. Luther Burden, Chicago 5-103 0
Power Rankings
- Buffalo
2. Philadelphia
3. San Francisco
4. L.A. Chargers
5. Tampa Bay Bucs
Bottom 5
32. New Orleans
31. N.Y. Jets
30. Miami
29. N.Y. Giants
28. Tennessee
NFL 5 Stars
- Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay
- Caleb Williams, Chicago
3. Jordan Davis, Philadelphia.
4. Carson Wentz, Minnesota.
5. Geno Smith, Las Vegas.
5 Flops
- Michael Penix, Atlanta.
2. Jake Browning, Cincinnati.
3. C.J. Stroud, Houston.
4. Russell Wilson, N.Y. Giants.
5. Micah Parsons, Green Bay.
NFL Stats
Touchdown passes 3 Baker Mayfield 6
Rushing Yards 15 Bucky Irving 174
Receiving Yards 26 Emeka Egbuka 181
Tackles 36 Lavonte David 22
Field Goals t-8 Chase McLaughlin 6
Bucs Coaches Records
Coach Wins Playoff wins
Jon Gruden 57 3
Tony Dungy 54 2
John McKay 44 1
Bruce Arians 31 5
Todd Bowles 30 1
Bucs QB records
Player Wins Playoff wins
- Trent Dilfer 38 1
2. Doug Williams 33 1
3. Tom Brady 32 5
4. Jameis Winston 28 0
5. Brad Johnson 26 3
8. Baker Mayfield 19 2