Buccaneers Win But Aren’t Out of the Water Yet

Tampa Bay may have snapped a two-game losing streak Monday night in what felt like a must-win game, but they weren’t perfect even playing at home against a bad team. Fortunately, there’s still time to clean things up. “There’s a lot of football left to be played… I hope our best football’s ahead of us” ~ Tom Brady (in his postgame presser after the MNF 30-10 victory over NYG)

29 days is a long time to go without a win in the NFL, especially for the defending Super Bowl champions. So, it makes sense that we’ve heard so much criticism in the last few weeks. Winning solves all problems in the NFL so you know the Bucs are feeling good going into their Thanksgiving holiday this week. But, should fans really feel that confident now because they took care of business against a mediocre Giants team? Probably not… yet.

New York is a Mess

The Giants fired offensive coordinator and former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett following the loss. New York now sits at 3-7 with really no future to look forward to right now. It’s tough to pat yourself on the back for a win like this but after how you looked against Washington, maybe you should when you remember that no wins are guaranteed in the NFL.

Shaky Start for Pass Defense

A big theme so far this year has been Tampa Bay’s struggle in the secondary. It initially looked like we were going to see that continue Thursday night and against an offense that has not found much success this season. But, the defense would step up, forcing three turnovers (2 INT/1 FR), making eight 3^rd down stops, and two 4^th down stops.

This Bucs defense has given up the 3^rd most passing completions in the league. They left a lot of guys open early in the game. Luckily, they tightened things up as the game went on and made some good adjustments at the half to start forcing Daniel Jones into some interceptions.

Gronk Being Back is Crucial

The return of Rob Gronkowski was a direct factor in the improvement of offensive execution this week. His blocking helped facilitate the run and screen game. Also, making six catches for 71 yards took pressure off some of the other weapons like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Desperate Need for the Return of Vita Vea

This Bucs defense needs to get more pressure on opposing QBs. Everyone is getting way too much time on them. If you can get Vita Vea back soon from his knee injury, it’ll make a big difference in not only getting to the QB, but he’s a great run stopper as well. Simply, it just makes the defensive line that much stronger.

Another Pick That Wasn’t Brady’s Fault

Mike Evans dropped a ball leading to an interception that New York took all the way back to the Bucs five-yard line. Two plays later, New York scored a touchdown to tie the game. Other than that, it was not a bad day for turnovers; but I can totally see a play like that one happening at the worst time at some point in the playoffs to end the season.

It’s not that they aren’t on the same page, its just some of these receivers, even the best ones like Evans and Godwin, still aren’t 100% reliable to catch every ball that hits their hands. They also happen to tip balls up for defenders which is a pretty bad trait to have, to not be good at even dropping the ball. There’s been too many worst-case scenario drops turning into picks this season and that must be infuriating Tom Brady.

Better Day for Penalties But Still Not Disciplined Yet

While penalties have been a huge theme in the criticism of this Tampa Bay team for the past month, Thursday night was an improvement, but still not perfect.

The Bucs ended up with six penalties accumulating for 39 yards including an offensive holding on a 3^rd and 10 when they were in the Giants end of the field and a defensive offsides on a 2^nd and 2 that gave New York an automatic first down.

What’s Ahead?

Having a short week during Thanksgiving does not help with game preparation. The circumstances this week are just as hard as the opponent themselves. The Bucs face their toughest test in probably over a month this upcoming Sunday when they travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts.

If the Bucs look anything like they have in the past few weeks, then I wouldn’t expect them to win this one.

Tampa Bay is not in any real danger of losing the division yet and what’s most important is that this team is playing their best football by the time they get to the playoffs. If Tampa Bay beats Indianapolis, they’ll be in great position to win the NFC South.

Remaining Schedule:

Graph via ESPN

WK	DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	TV
12	Sun, Nov 28	@Indianapolis	1:00 PM	FOX
13	Sun, Dec 5	@Atlanta	1:00 PM	FOX
14	Sun, Dec 12	vsBuffalo	4:25 PM	CBS
15	Sun, Dec 19	vsNew Orleans	8:20 PM	NBC
16	Sun, Dec 26	@Carolina	1:00 PM	FOX
17	Sun, Jan 2	@New York	1:00 PM	FOX
18	Sun, Jan 9	vsCarolina	1:00 PM	FOX

(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)