
Monday, 4 a.m.
The rookie quarterback was terrific. The veteran quarterback was not.
The overpaid coach looked like a genius. The under-appreciated coach needs to stay after school.
The recycled cornerback was smothering . The star receiver was invisible.
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And on it goes. Denver's defensive line outmuscled the Bucs' offensive line. The Bucs' secondary couldn't cover. Tackling was optional. The Bucs' defensive line couldn't stop a running play.
If you want to sum up Denver’s shocking 26-7 woodshedding of the Tampa Bay Bucs on Sunday, you can start with the individual matchups. The 0-2 Broncos had their way with the previously unbeaten Bucs Sunday. Bo Nix outplayed Baker Mayfield. Sean Payton outcoached Todd Bowles. Patrick Surtain blanketed Mike Evans.
You get the picture.
Teams upset teams all the time who have better records. Seldom, however, is it a trouncing such as the Bucs suffered.
"I think we will watch this tape, and you can probably tell on the tape how much they wanted it more than us.," Mayfield said. "For offense, we didn’t start fast in the first quarter, didn’t start fast in the third quarter – that’s the story of the game. We can’t throw an interception early on; it changes the momentum, but then we had a chance, scoring in the second quarter right there going into halftime knowing we are getting the ball back and then again, didn’t start fast in the third quarter.
"We got a lot of things to get fixed, but that’s the story of this league. We talked about it earlier this week – you have to bring your best stuff any Sunday – it doesn’t matter who you are playing. So, for us, get the things corrected. Luckily, we get to do it again next Sunday right here at home to get these things fixed.”
The Broncos dominated play for most of the afternoon, outgaining the Bucs 352-223 in total yards. Denver didn’t resemble a winless team at all.
"They outplayed us.," Bowles said. "They outcoached us. They out hit us, and they won the game. We didn’t take them lightly. We didn’t play well. We have to coach it better and we have to play it better. That starts with me.
“We have to block it better. We definitely have to block it better and then some of the times we have to get rid of the ball. It’s a combination of both. We have to play better all the way around. We have to pressure the ball. It’s coming out quick. When we didn’t get pressure, we didn’t tackle well, and he broke a couple tackles and got out of the pocket and that was the most disappointing thing – the tackling.”
The Bucs, meanwhile, suffered seven sacks on the afternoon. Mayfield wasn't good, but he didn't have a chance to be.
Evans was held to two catches for 17 yards. And, despite Bucky Irving’s impressive 70 yards rushing, the team gained only 91 as a team.
Question: Do you think Detroit thinks it let one get away last week?
The Broncos had 135 yards rushing.
"This is a good lesson for our team overall.," Mayfield said. "You have to prepare like you’re playing in a playoff game every week or else this can happen. We got our asses kicked – physicality-wise, execution-wise, all over the board for us. It’s a good lesson for our team, for the young guys who haven’t seen it before of what you need to be prepared for, how detailed we need to be and for it to happen this early on, I’m going to take the positives.”
The Bucs are home next Sunday against the Eagles at 1 p.m.