The Tampa Bay Buccaneers experienced a season marked by both extraordinary achievements and significant challenges. Despite impressive offensive statistics and notable individual performances, the team struggled to close out tight games, finishing with a 9-8 record. This season, the Buccaneers became the first team in NFL history to complete 70% of their passes and average over five yards per carry. They also scored a 72-point margin in the fourth quarter during victories, second only in the league. However, their inability to secure wins in one-score games, where they went 2-5, highlighted their struggles.
The Buccaneers' defense faced a grueling workload, playing nearly 57% more snaps than the Washington Commanders and spending more than double the number of plays defending their own red zone. Despite these challenges, the defense showcased remarkable speed, averaging 4.31 seconds to sack, ranking as the second fastest in the league according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Nonetheless, turnovers haunted the team, with six combined turnovers occurring in crucial one-score losses to the Falcons and Cowboys.
In contrast, the Buccaneers' offense demonstrated resilience despite injuries to key players such as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Even with Evans missing three games and Godwin out for the season, the offense managed to put points on the board consistently. Quarterback Baker Mayfield set a franchise single-game postseason completion rate record of 83.3% in a loss, embodying the team's offensive prowess.
"This group had the makeup to go all the way. Unfortunately we didn't bring our best stuff tonight and Washington did." – Baker Mayfield
A critical decision looms regarding Chris Godwin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent after a blistering start to the season. The Buccaneers must decide on his future with the team amidst these uncertainties.
"Me and Jason [Licht] will sit down and talk about how we want to approach the offseason." – Todd Bowles
Defensive stalwarts like outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka acknowledged the rapid decisions required on the field. He stated:
"When you're making decisions, you've only got like a half, split-second. I'd like to see them make a better decision. It's a hard job. He's an amazing man leading this team so I'd like to see them do a better job." – Joe Tryon-Shoyinka
The Buccaneers' secondary faced its own set of challenges with injuries affecting their lineup. The starting secondary featuring Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Tykee Smith, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Jordan Whitehead barely played a full quarter together in two games they all participated in.
"Once we went backwards, we had to tie the ballgame." – Todd Bowles
Despite these hurdles, General Manager Jason Licht's decision to draft Rachaad White as running back appeared promising. White's contributions provided much-needed support for the offense throughout the season.
The Buccaneers' head coach Todd Bowles reflected on the season's ups and downs, acknowledging both the fast start and subsequent challenges:
"I thought we were fast starting the season. We got banged up pretty early, and we made some routine plays look hard and I didn't like that about it. That will probably eat at me the whole offseason." – Todd Bowles
Veteran linebacker Lavonte David emphasized his desire for autonomy in his career decisions:
"It's always important to go out on my own terms." – Lavonte David
As the Buccaneers move forward, they focus on addressing key areas for improvement. Tight end Cade Otton expressed optimism for future corrections:
"That's something as a team, as a group, we'll work on fixing next year. Definitely when you look back at it, just some of these mistakes in key times definitely came back to bite us." – Cade Otton
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