On an offense lacking weapons, Bucs still shoot themselves in the foot At times such as this, perspective is important. On the one hand, the Bucs are still on top of the NFC South. Their only losses are against two quality opponents with a combined record of 10-2. They have yet to lose a game they were supposed to win, and the defense has played admirably at times. On the other hand, what the heck was that? The Bucs looked lifeless and clueless on offense in Sunday's 20-6 loss to the Lions. They couldn't run, Baker Mayfield was having Cleveland flashbacks and someone forgot to include Chris Godwin in the game plan. It was as if they had completely whiffed on lessons learned from the Philadelphia beatdown three weeks earlier. I realize the playbook is new and coordinator Dave Canales is still finding his footing but, six weeks into the season, does anybody know this offense's identity? "Oh my gosh, that's a good one. I don't know, I don't know about that one," said left tackle Tristan Wirfs. "It's like Coach (Tom) Moore always says, four or five plays are going to determine the outcome of a game. And you never know which four or five. But that's a good question. I wish I had a better answer for you. I'm not stumped very often." Mayfield gallantly fell on his sword and took responsibility for the loss - "That was horrible," he said - but the problems run deeper than a quarterback having an off day. Overall, the offense is averaging 18 points a game, which is 26th in the NFL and a step backward from last season. But even more concerning is the complete inability to move the ball against good teams. The Bucs combined for two decent drives against Detroit and Philadelphia, and both were in the final minutes when the opposing defenses were just winding down the clock. In the first three quarters against the Eagles, the Bucs scored three points. In the first three quarters against the Lions, they scored six. The reality is, there are not enough weapons on this offense. There's not a game-breaker in the backfield. There is no tight end even close to being the weapon that Rob Gronkowski was in 2020-21. And Godwin and Mike Evans are the only skill players with football cards that anyone outside of Tampa Bay would recognize. Which makes Sunday's game plan even more perplexing. While the game was still in the balance in the first half, Godwin had two passes thrown his way and Evans had three. Trey Palmer and Deven Thompkins, meanwhile, had combined for six targets by halftime. It's almost as if the Bucs are trying to be too cute on offense instead of putting the ball in the hands of the two guys with proven track records in the league. Godwin ended up with a team-high 77 receiving yards, but that's only because he caught three passes on the meaningless final drive. So, again, is this offense still on the lookout for its identity? "That's a good way to put it," Godwin said. "Whenever you have a new offense, you're going to have some growing pains. You're trying to figure it out, especially with a first-year offensive coordinator. But I think Dave is doing a pretty good job of figuring things out. It's just a process, and we're going to figure it out." What makes this frustrating is the possibility still exists for a memorable season. The Bucs have a half-game lead in the division and can remain in control with a victory against the 3-3 Falcons at Raymond James Stadium next week. They survived the first month by holding Minnesota, Chicago and New Orleans to 17 points or less, and they were opportunistic with two touchdowns and two field goals following turnovers. But, at some point, the offense is going to need to win some games on its own. And that isn't going to happen if Mayfield overthrows deep passes, or offensive linemen commit penalties on third down or Godwin and Evans are neglected for 30 minutes at a time. "There were plays we should've had and should've executed," Mayfield said. "Game-changing plays, and we didn't do it. Left a lot out there we should have taken advantage of." No one expects the Bucs to return to the high-scoring days of 2019-21, but they do need to figure out a rhythm or a personality or a bread-and-butter style on offense. On the first nine possessions of Sunday's game, they averaged 4.4 plays and 20 yards. Even in a bad division, that's no way to march to the postseason. John Romano, The Tampa Bay Times, published 16 October 2023