In FOX Sports' updated power rankings heading into Week 2, Tampa Bay dropped two spots from 22nd to 24th following its 33-27 loss in Cincinnati. The Bucs entered the year with expectations of getting back to the playoffs after finishing 8-9 last season. Instead, their first opportunity to start building toward that ended with four fumbles and another game in which the offense wasn't able to consistently finish drives.
FOX Sports NFL writer Ralph Vacchiano pointed directly toward Baker Mayfield and the offense when explaining Tampa Bay's position in the rankings. Mayfield signed a three-year, $165 million extension before the season, raising the expectations for an offense that still has Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Bucky Irving, and several
other options around him, and there were some encouraging signs in the loss.
Tampa Bay never punted, Bucky Irving finished with 93 yards from scrimmage, and rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter Jr. had one of the better defensive debuts of Week 1. The Bucs also managed to work their way back into the game after falling behind by 18 points. The problem was that the turnovers made it difficult to capitalize on most of those positives. Three consecutive first-half possessions ended with Tampa Bay losing a fumble, and Cincinnati turned each of them into touchdowns. The fourth came in the second half and led to another Bengals field goal. The drop also leaves Tampa Bay sitting in the bottom quarter of FOX Sports' rankings after just one week. That's a noticeable position for a team that entered the season believing it could compete for the NFC South and return to the postseason. Cleveland comes to Raymond James Stadium in Week 2 after falling from 30th to 31st in the same rankings following a 34-10 loss to Jacksonville. For Tampa Bay, getting back to .500 would be a much better way to head into a tougher stretch of its early-season schedule than allowing an 0-2 start to create even more questions.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs fall to 24th in newest FOX Sports power rankings
