By Carter Brantley
Denver 26 Bucs 7
In the NFL, everyone is bound to have an off day, regardless of how good they may be. It’s always preferable to get a poor performance out of the way early in the season, so the Buccaneers’ 26-7 loss to the Broncos was certainly a stinker and clearly unexpected.
If you found yourself driving down Dale Mabry or near the airport on Sunday afternoon and noticed an unusual odor, it likely emanated from the Buccaneers’ performance. They delivered a disappointing game against the Denver Broncos, showcasing a staggering level of ineptitude for a team with such a depth of talent.
Irresponsible and inexplicable interceptions? They’ve got you covered.
Shanked punts that make you question your existence? Yup.
Blown coverages and a non-existent pass rush? You betcha.
Missed tackles galore? Oh, yeah.
Consecutive offsides penalties to allow a team to turn a 3rd and 14 into a 3rd and 4? The Bucs can take care of that.
Add in their usually stinky running game, and you get a 26-7 Bucs loss.
Baker Mayfield started off hot with the mistakes, with the offense having a disappointing 3-and-out following it up with a pick the next possession, setting the Broncos up for an easy TD to make it 14-0 in the 1st quarter.
The 2nd half didn’t go much better, with a few promising drives early in the half being killed by sacks.
Mike Evans was persona non grata most of the game, with 0 catches through the first 3 quarters until he finally hauled in his first reception in the 4th.
The defense allowed Bo Nix to do whatever he wanted on the field, as he ended up with 216 yards on 25/36 completions for the day.
The pass rush was the huge culprit, as they have a measly 2 sacks for the year and gave Nix seemingly all day on almost every throw.
Following last week’s unexpected but hard-fought win against the Detroit Lions, and with a 2-0 record the loss to Denver was, to say the least disappointing. However, having such a game early in the season hopefully will serve as a wake-up call and the Bucs can move past the setback.
Despite the embarrassment of playing poorly at home against a team with a rookie quarterback and an 0-2 record, it’s not catastrophic. The Bucs hold a 2-1 record and are tied with New Orleans for first place in the division.
Speaking of the NFC South, the Saints offense finally fell back to earth in their 15-12 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Panthers had a 4 pm game against the Raiders (not that it matters) and the Falcons played Kansas City Sunday night.
The Bucs take on the Eagles next week, who are 2-1 for the year following that miraculous, gutsy victory in New Orleans Sunday afternoon.
The good news is, it’s one game, and the Bucs now have that bad loss in the bank. Unfortunately, with their tough remaining schedule, this might be the only one they’re allowed if they want to compete for this division. So, burn the game video and hit the practice field, get ready for the Eagles, and forget this stinker as soon as possible.
