The Buccaneers fall to 1-5 after blowing a 16-point lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, who pick up the 26-19 win in overtime. After dominating the game for the first three quarters, the Bucs disintegrated in the fourth quarter, allowing the Steelers to score 16 points and then the game-winning touchdown in overtime. There were failures across the team, but none greater than those of Tampa Bay's coaching staff.Here are the five takeaways from the Bucs' Week 6 loss to the Steelers:
Todd Bowles is likely done in Tampa Bay
At 1-4, Todd Bowles did not have the luxury of blowing winnable games, but that is exactly what happened against Pittsburgh. For most of the game, Bowles' defense was lights out. The pass rush was finally turning a corner. They were successfully forcing the Steelers offense
into third-and-long situations. They allowed just three points in three quarters.
Then, the fourth quarter started, and it all fell apart. First, his defense gave up its first touchdown drive of the day. After allowing just one third-down conversion in the previous three quarters, they gave up three in the fourth. Jalon Daniels all but self-destructed, throwing two picks and completing just two of his nine attempts. Taking the game into overtime, the exhausted defense surrendered an easy touchdown to Pittsburgh, and the offense sputtered entirely.
At 1-5, there is little chance the Bucs make the playoffs, and they are more likely to make a top-10 pick in next year's draft. That should spell the end of Bowles' tenure as Tampa Bay's head coach.
Zac Robinson is leading Bowles to the unemployment line
Tampa Bay's offense has been a disaster all season, regardless of who is under center. That is because offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is completely out of his depth and has no concept for what it takes to make an NFL quarterback's life easier.
Jalen Daniels was forced into a number of difficult throws and reads against Pittsburgh, and by the end of the game, he was unable to see anything clearly on the field. Robinson had no answers for his struggling rookie quarterback. He kept dropping him back with deep route concepts with few easy pitches like screens or slants.
As it has been all season, the entire offensive operation was disjointed and nonsensical. Even if Bowles were to somehow survive this season, it would be in his best interest to separate himself from Robinson as quickly as possible.
Jalon Daniels is a long way from being an NFL starter
Rookie quarterbacks are expected to struggle, but Jalon Daniels has made it clear that he presents no real challenge to Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay. The undrafted rookie had a few nice moments against the Steelers, including a 22-yard completion to Ted Hurst and a would-be 24-yard touchdown pass to Hurst that was stopped by pass interference from cornerback Daylen Everette.
However, for almost the entire second half, Daniels struggled with accuracy and decision-making. His two interceptions were backbreakers. The first to Everette was a risky decision with poor ball placement targeting Emeka Egbuka. The second was a baffling throw that had no chance of reaching Egbuka but was well within reach of former Bucs CB Jamel Dean.
Daniels' five picks in four games is a troubling trend. Nearly every pick could be traced back to a poor decision by Daniels, and it does not appear the trend is anywhere close to reversing. An inability to take care of the football is the quickest way for a quarterback to find the bench, which is likely where Daniels will be next week.
The Bucs have to bring in another punter
Riley Dixon is one of the worst punters in the NFL, and the Bucs can no longer afford to ignore his abysmal play. Three of his six punts were under 40 yards, and he averaged just 40.8 yards per punt. While the field position battle was diminished for most of the day due to the defense's strong play, the Bucs' anemic offense does not afford much room for error in the punting department. The Bucs need to explore other punter options if they have any intention of keeping every possible edge to pull themselves out of the cellar.
Tampa Bay's pass rush is just getting started
A big reason why the Bucs were in firm control of most of the game was the emergence of their pass rush. In particular, outside linebackers David Walker and Reuben Bain Jr. were game-wrecking forces, combining for three sacks, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, and a pass breakup that resulted in an A'Shawn Robinson interception. Rookie CB Keionte Scott and veteran OLB Al-Quadin Muhammad each added sacks, crediting general manager Jason Licht's work to improve Tampa Bay's pass rush this offseason.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: 5 takeaways from the Bucs' Week 6 loss to the Steelers
