Thursday, 4 a.m.
They lost to P.J. Walker of Carolina, who won only one other game this season. Against the Bucs, he had a 126.6 quarterback rating.
They lost to Jacoby Brissett of Cleveland, who had one of his two comebacks this year against them. He had a rating of 75.3.
They lost to Mitch Trubisky of Pittsburgh, who isn't even the starter. Filling in for Kenny Pickett, he had a rating of 142.4.
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They lost to Brock Purdy of San Francisco, who was making his first start. He had a rating of 134.0.
So what chance, pray tell, does the beleaguered pass defense of the Tampa Bay Bucs have against Cincinnati's Joe Burrow?
If you haven't paid attention, Burrow is one of the shining lights of the NFL. He took a flawed Cincinnati team to the Super Bowl last year, and in the last two seasons, including playoffs, he's 22-11. He's thrown for 61 touchdowns over the last two seasons, and his own quarterback rating is well above 100 for those two years. His team has won five straight.
Now he gets to face an injured, underachieving secondary that seems to think its job it to tackle someone after a 30-yard gain. The Bucs have had their successes, but at the key moments, they've been victimized.
This, then, looks like a mismatch. The Bucs lack a consistent rush from their defensive line, which exposes their secondary, which leads to points.
Look, that will struggle afterward, too, even though it faces Colt McMcCoy , Sam Darnold and Desmond Ridder down the stretch. Burrow makes up for all of them.
“I don’t have all the adjectives that everybody said about him," Bucs' coach Todd Bowles said. "He’s great, he’s poised in the pocket, he throws a great ball all over the field, he can throw at any angle. He can make any throw, he has some great receivers to throw to, he has a good understanding of the offense and the game, he can take advantage of what you’re trying to give him, he can run the ball when he has to run the ball, he can throw people open, he can use his feet. He has a knack for the game.
"Certain guys when they come out of college that young have a knack for the game already – he has it.”
Burrow is the rare star to come out of the No. 1 overall pick,a position that has seen Vinny Testaverde, Jeff George, Tim Couch, David Carr, JaMarcus Russell, Sam Bradford and Jameis Winston struggle.
Burrow also has 496 yards rushing in his three seasons.
“I think containment is an issue that has to be resolved every week," said Bucs' defensive tackle Akiem Hicks. "You know, you’ve got to make sure that guys aren’t getting out of the pocket and getting those extra few yards. I think that we will have a plan, as we did last week to have a guy stay in the pocket and make sure that he can beat us with his arm.”