The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-3, their starting quarterback is dealing with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand, and another winnable game slipped away Sunday afternoon. Somehow, Tampa Bay is still only one game out of first place in the NFC South.
That strange reality was not lost on head coach Todd Bowles following the Buccaneers' 23-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. According to Greg Auman, Bowles acknowledged just how ugly the start has been while also pointing out that Tampa Bay's season is far from buried.
“The funny thing, we're 0-3 and we're a game out of first place. We have to get our stuff together. We have to reach down and do more, to a coach, to a person, to a player. We've got to do more.”
The second half of that quote is probably
the more important part for Tampa Bay right now. Being one game out of first place does not mean much if the Buccaneers continue to make the same mistakes that have plagued them through the first three weeks of the season.
Those problems were on display again against Minnesota. Tampa Bay's defense held the Vikings to 230 total yards and repeatedly gave the offense opportunities to take control of the game. One of the biggest came when Vita Vea tipped a Kyler Murray pass that eventually found its way into the hands of A'Shawn Robinson, giving the Bucs possession at the Minnesota 22-yard line.
Tampa Bay came away with only a field goal.
That inability to capitalize became one of the biggest stories of the afternoon. The Bucs finished just 2-of-17 on third down, went 0-for-2 on fourth down, and failed to score a touchdown on either of their two trips into the red zone. Tampa Bay also allowed six sacks, punted nine times, and committed eight penalties for 81 yards.
The frustrating part is that the Bucs were never completely out of the game. Chase McLaughlin's 54-yard field goal pulled Tampa Bay within 17-16 with 9:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the defense continued to give the offense chances late. The Buccaneers just could not find the touchdown they needed.
Things got even worse on Tampa Bay's final meaningful offensive possession. Facing fourth-and-13 with 1:54 remaining, Baker Mayfield tried to escape Minnesota's pressure before forcing a pass that was intercepted by Andrew Van Ginkel. Mayfield was injured on the play and later went to the locker room.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported after the game that Bowles said Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand and will undergo an MRI on Monday. Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels was forced into the game for Tampa Bay's final possession.
Now the Buccaneers are sitting at 0-3, with questions about their offense, injuries piling up, and their starting quarterback's status suddenly uncertain. The fact that they remain only one game out of first place gives them something to hold onto, but Bowles' message was pretty clear.
The season is not over, but what Tampa Bay has shown through three weeks is not good enough. Coaches and players alike have to find a way to do more before an ugly start turns into something the Buccaneers can no longer recover from.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Todd Bowles finds one silver lining in Bucs’ ugly 0-3 start
