The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping to rebound on the road this week, as they face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, with kickoff slated for 4:05 p.m. ET at Lumen Field.
It was a tough game for the Buccaneers last week, as they fell behind the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles with an ugly first half before attempting yet another impressive comeback, falling just short after missing out on two opportunities late in the game.
Nonetheless, Tampa Bay is 3-1 and atop the NFC South, with an opportunity
to add to its lead this weekend with a quality win over another 3-1 team.
However, if the Buccaneers are to continue their early-season success, they need to be more consistent. Offensively, getting better on third downs would go a long way for that.
Currently, the Buccaneers rank 22nd in the NFL in third-down conversion rate at 37.0 percent, while having the ninth-highest number of third downs in the NFL. So, they’re getting to later downs quite often, but not converting at a good enough rate.
That’s because the Buccaneers have had one of the more inefficient offenses in the league so far, ranking 22nd in yards per play (5.2), while ranking 25th in success rate (40.4 percent).
Looking game-by-game, Tampa Bay started slow against Atlanta with back-to-back three-and-outs, while later having another three-and-out to end the first half with an opportunity to take the lead. Its average distance to go on third downs on those drives? 8.3 yards.
Against Houston in Week 2, the Buccaneers had a much better start with back-to-back touchdown drives to open up the game. But, after that, it was a cold spell for the offense, which punted on four consecutive drives. Its average distance to go on those four drives? 5.8 yards.
Against the Jets in Week 3, Tampa Bay seemed in control all afternoon, leading 23-6 heading into the fourth quarter. But, they still went 4/13 on third downs, which resulted in five field goal attempts on drives that got into the red zone.
And finally, in Week 4 against the Eagles, the Buccaneers were an abysmal 3/13 on third downs. That hurt them throughout the game, but especially at the end, as Tampa Bay couldn’t get enough offense to decrease the deficit and win the game.
Now, heading into Week 5, the Buccaneers face a Seattle defense that ranks third in yards per play (4.5) and allows a 39.0 percent third-down conversion rate. A big factor in getting better on third downs is increasing the efficiency on first and second downs, which is where that success rate figure comes in.
Without Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay must find a way to limit the negative plays and get better opportunities to convert third downs when they come.
What do you want to see from the Buccaneers offense tomorrow? What’s your best-case scenario?
