Three games into the season, the concern with Zac Robinson’s offense goes beyond Tampa Bay simply needing more time to learn another system. The Bucs are averaging just 279.3 yards per game, have allowed 13 sacks, and have converted only 14 of 43 third downs. For an offense with Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, there has been very little consistency or identity.
Protection has become the biggest problem, and Sunday against Minnesota showed how everything is starting to compound. Mayfield was sacked six times and hit 12 times, while the Bucs converted just two of 17 third downs. The offensive line was also responsible for several costly penalties. Cody Mauch and Graham Barton were called for holding on consecutive
plays after Tampa Bay reached the Minnesota three-yard line, eventually forcing the Bucs to settle for a field goal. Luke Goedeke later had a holding penalty wipe out an 85-yard touchdown to Godwin, while Payne Durham erased a Mayfield first-down scramble with another hold.
Those mistakes fall on the players, but Robinson has to find ways to make life easier for an offensive line that clearly is not handling what is being asked of it. Tampa Bay needs more quick throws, moving pockets and concepts that punish aggressive pass rushers. Instead, Mayfield has frequently been asked to wait for routes to develop behind protection that has already proven unreliable. Mayfield deserves some responsibility too. He has held onto the football too long on certain plays while appearing too eager to abandon the pocket on others. That combination has made the protection look even worse. When Mayfield does not trust what is developing downfield, he starts creating outside the play's structure, which changes where the offensive line expects him to be.
The lack of offensive identity becomes even more obvious in the red zone. Tampa Bay entered Week 3 converting only 37.5 percent of its red zone possessions into touchdowns. Against Minnesota, A’Shawn Robinson’s interception gave the offense the ball at the Vikings' 22. The Bucs gained just two yards and settled for a field goal. Robinson was brought in with wide zone concepts, motion, and play action expected to complement Irving and Mayfield. Instead, the running game, protection and passing concepts have rarely worked together. Tampa Bay has talented individual pieces, but the offense has not consistently put those pieces in positions to succeed. Three games do not define Robinson’s tenure, but 13 sacks, poor third-down production, red-zone struggles, and repeated protection breakdowns are enough to raise questions about the fit. With Jalon Daniels potentially taking over, Robinson now has to prove he can adjust his scheme to his players rather than expecting them to adjust to it.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Why has Zac Robinson’s offense struggled to find its identity?
