What The Buc!

Star wideout Mike Evans lost control and dropped a wide-open catch on what likely would have been a touchdown in the Buccaneers’ stunning 21-3 Week 7 defeat to the Carolina Panthers (Rusty Jones/AP)

For a team with a promising roster and championship experience, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have looked awful. Players constantly being out with injury is an issue, but that is not an excuse for the Bucs after their latest game, a shocking 21-3 defeat to the Carolina Panthers, who were 1-5 prior to the Week 7 matchup. To make matters seem more alarming for Bucs fans, PJ Walker who has struggled to remain in the NFL (despite an impressive Week 7 performance) was starting at quarterback for Carolina, and Christain McCaffery was traded to the San Francisco 49ers just days earlier. Not to mention, this was only Carolina’s second game with their new interim head coach Steve Wilks. There was no reason to believe Tampa Bay would lose to the Panthers entering the game, yet the Bucs were dominated by the one-win team.

Week 6 wasn’t much different than Tampa’s most recent loss, as the Bucs were upset by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were 1-4 prior to the matchup.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles (left) and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich (right) (FOX Sports, USA TODAY Sports)

Obvious holes in Tampa Bay include the patterns of injuries, the lack of production from Tom Brady and the offense, and losing names such as Rob Gronkowski. The inconsistency from the Bucs is very uncharacteristic, and the biggest reason is their coaching.

Starting with offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, whose offense has been surprisingly struggling. While Tom Brady has not been playing to the level that the Bucs need him to, Leftwich has visibly struggled as well. An offense that regularly put up high-scoring victories and led several offensive categories last year is the same one that only has one 30-point game and only two games with above 20 points through seven weeks this season. The quarterback needs to have more operating room on first downs, yet Tampa repeatedly sets themselves up in limited windows after continuous running plays on first down behind a clearly banged-up offensive line. Leftwich’s biggest flaw has been the failure to adjust. The ball is struggling to be moved down the field, yet big play pass attempts are still being drawn. In Tampa’s time of struggle during their 2020 Super Bowl season, former head coach Bruce Arians (now in Tampa’s front office) stepped away from his “No Risk It-No Biscuit” offense and let Brady take full control at times with more play-action plays and pre-snap motions, which elevated the flow of the offense. Allowing more short plays that can add good amounts of yardage would certainly put Brady in a position to be a little more effective.

Tom Brady (left) and Byron Leftwich (right) (Buccaneers)

Then, there’s head coach Todd Bowles.