Across three games, Tampa Bay showed virtually nothing on that side of the ball, culminating in an ugly 19-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Friday's preseason finale. So, with the regular season approaching, is it time to be concerned about the Buccaneers' offense? Maybe a little. Panic, however, can wait.
Tampa Bay finished the preseason with only 350 passing yards and one passing touchdown. The quarterbacks averaged just 4.8 yards per attempt while taking nine sacks. Against the Jaguars, the Buccaneers managed only 120 total yards, six first downs and 1.9 yards per play. They went 2-for-12 on third down and punted 10 times. Head coach Todd Bowles didn't sugarcoat the performance afterward, saying the offense wasn't good enough and pointing
specifically to Tampa Bay's inability to protect the quarterback or run the football. Even when Tampa Bay played its starters against Kansas City, the results weren't encouraging. Baker Mayfield played two possessions and completed 2 of 4 passes for 10 yards, with the first team offense failing to score. Tampa Bay was shut out for the entire first half before Jalon Daniels eventually sparked three consecutive scoring drives.
However, Mayfield attempted only four passes during the entire preseason. He didn't play against the Jets or Jaguars, and many of Tampa Bay's most important players received little to no game action. The Buccaneers were far more interested in evaluating their roster depth than previewing what Zac Robinson's offense will actually look like. Robinson's first season as Tampa Bay's offensive coordinator will ultimately be judged by what happens with Mayfield operating behind the starting offensive line and throwing to the Buccaneers' actual collection of weapons, not by what Jalon Daniels, Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak did while playing behind reserve linemen in essentially "practice" games.
As Tampa Bay's backup offensive line struggled throughout the preseason, the offense struggled to sustain drives regardless of who was playing quarterback, and there weren't many explosive plays. If injuries force the Buccaneers to dig into their offensive depth during the regular season, that could become a major concern. But judging the starting offense based on these three games would be judging a unit we barely saw. If these same problems follow Tampa Bay into Cincinnati, thats another story. Until then, the panic meter should remain relatively low.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Is it time to panic about the Buccaneers' offense?
