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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in a very “dark place” after a 3-4 start.
The Buccaneers fell to the Carolina Panthers in a 21-3 loss in Week 7. For the second straight week, Tampa Bay lost as heavy favorites to an inferior opponent, resulting in their second straight loss. It was their lowest output as far as scoring this season, as the Buccaneers failed score a touchdown for the first time this year.
Needless to say, head coach Todd Bowles didn’t hold back in his assessment of the Buccaneers’ recent losing skid.
Via Rick Stroud of The Tampa Bay Times:
“Coach Todd Bowles said the Bucs are in a ‘dark place,’ right now and they have to see if the older guys can still play and if the younger guys are good enough to play,” said Stroud.
Buccaneers Struggling in Several Areas
Unlike last week where Tampa Bay was one play away from tying the game in the fourth quarter, the Bucs were completely outplayed by a team just days removed from trading its best player in Christian McCaffrey. Furthermore, Carolina was starting its third-string quarterback, P.J. Walker, who entered the game having started just three games in his career.
There isn’t a specific area where Tampa Bay is struggling; they’re lacking in several areas. Entering the game, the Buccaneers ranked 16th in the NFL in run defense, allowing an average of 118.29 yards per game. Outside of their clear struggles in scoring — they came in averaging just 20.2 points per game, 21st in the league — Tampa Bay has also suddenly lost the ability to run the football.
The Buccaneers rank dead last in the league in yards per attempt by far, averaging just 3.1 yards per attempt. This comes just a year after they averaged 4.3 yards per attempt last season, ranking a respectable 15th in the NFL.
Bowles on Bucs’ Performance: ‘We’re Not Playing Well’
“We’re not playing well. We’re not playing well as individuals, we’re not playing well as a team,” Bowles said. “We’re not coaching well. All around. We’re not scoring enough on offense. We’re not stopping them enough on defense.”
To top things off, Tom Brady went his first game without throwing a touchdown pass. The 45-year-old had arguably his worst performance of the season, posting an 81.2 passer rating (second-lowest of the year) and a 57.9 QB rating (his lowest of the year).
“No one feels good about where we’re at, no one feels good about how we’ve played or what we’re doing,” said Brady after the game. “We’re all in it together. We’ve gotta go pull ourselves out of it.”.
In a microcosm of the team’s struggles this season, Brady threw a deep pass to Mike Evans early on in the first quarter that would have likely resulted in a touchdown. In fact, the closest defender — cornerback CJ Henderson — was 10.9 yards away from Evans when the pass arrived.
However, Evans dropped the ball.
“No one play is the sole reason you lose but that was definitely the biggest reason,” Evans said. “I seen the life go out of us. It took me a while to get back playing. We’re taught to play the next play, but it was tough — wide open, one of the best in the game — I’ve gotta catch it.”
The Buccaneers are still first in the NFC South division, tied with the 3-4 Atlanta Falcons for the division lead. They’ll have a short turnaround as they’ll host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night.
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