Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

It’s time for Scott Reynolds’ 2-Point Conversion post-game column, which features two statements, two questions and two predictions based on the latest Bucs game.

The Buccaneers lost more than their third straight game on Sunday Night Football, losing to the Rams, 34-7. Tampa Bay also lost starting quarterback Baker Mayfield for a week – and maybe longer – due to an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Can the Buccaneers rebound at home on Sunday against a 3-8 Cardinals team with Teddy Bridgewater under center?

2 BIG STATEMENTS

STATEMENT 1. Baker Mayfield’s Injury Changes Everything For The Bucs

The cavalry was supposed to come help the Bucs down the stretch – even if Tampa Bay slid to 6-5 with a loss at Los Angeles that many saw coming.

The Buccaneers could right the ship with a few winnable games at home with the eventual return of running back Bucky Irving, left guard Ben Bredeson, outside linebacker Haason Reddick and cornerback Jamel Dean over the next few weeks – and perhaps wide receivers Mike Evans and Jalen McMillan later in December.

But nobody expected backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to be part of that cavalry.

Heck, nobody wanted to see Bridgewater be any part of that kind of Buccaneers’ cavalry.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

With Baker Mayfield, the Bucs had a chance to beat a 3-8 Cardinals team, beat a 2-9 Saints team and have the chance of beating a 4-7 Falcons team that is starting backup Kirk Cousins. Three straight home games are on deck. Three winnable home games to help fans forget – or at least get over – three straight losses since the bye week.

How confident do you feel about Tampa Bay winning any of these games without Mayfield, whose left arm is in sling due to a shoulder injury he suffered in the 34-7 loss in Los Angeles on Sunday Night Football? Not only is Mayfield the engine of Tampa Bay’s offense, he’s also the heartbeat of this team.

“It’s a big loss because of the way he’s been playing and carrying us the past few weeks – and even last year,” Bowles said. “At the same time, we all have confidence in Teddy. We know what he can do and we know what kind of confidence level he brings, too. It’s a different kind of energy, but yet energy that we all feed off of and expect.”

I’m not saying it can’t be done – that the Buccaneers can’t win the next three games or at least two of them. But Todd Bowles’ defense needs to play a helluva lot better than it has the three two weeks – and somehow do that overnight.

Bucs QB Teddy Bridgewater – Photo by: USA Today

Bowles will also need to coach his ass off and somehow manufacture wins against beatable opponents. It’s situations like this where coaching really matters. It can be easy to be a head coach when you have a healthy team and a roster full of playmakers. But as we’ve seen recently, the Bucs are not healthy and really lack some playmakers right now.

If the Buccaneers are truly a good team that struggles against better teams with elite talent, they will be good enough to win at least two of the next three games – starting Sunday against a battered Cardinals team led by backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is 1-5 as a starter this season.

If the team can’t beat the Cardinals, the Saints and the Falcons – or at least two out of those three – then Tampa Bay will fall below .500 late in the season and can truly no longer be considered a good team. If Tampa Bay can finish with 10 or 11 wins despite a slew of injuries, then we’ll know that the Bucs are a good team – good enough to win the division, but not good enough to go deep in the playoffs.

If the Buccaneers’ late-season slide continues then this season will go from bad to worse and the Panthers will wind up winning the NFC South with former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales at the helm. That would not be a good look for Bowles.

STATEMENT 2. Bucs’ Defensive Front Continues To Fail

Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby collected his fifth sack of the season on Sunday Night Football, dropping Matthew Stafford for a 10-yard loss. That was literally the lone bright spot for Tampa Bay’s defensive front in Los Angeles. Diaby had three pressures against Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was only pressured seven times in Week 12, including only three QB hits by Tampa Bay defenders.

Of course that wasn’t enough against an elite quarterback like Stafford. Tampa Bay’s defensive front didn’t win enough one-on-ones nor did Todd Bowles’ linebacker and defensive back blitzes get home. Last week I chronicled some of the personnel issues up front that have stemmed from poor drafting at the outside linebacker, inside linebacker and defensive tackle positions in my most recent SR’s FAB 5 column, as well as a pair of similar yet different Pewter Pulse videos on this topic.

Bucs GM Jason Licht – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/PR

I encourage you to watch them if you haven’t already, as I believe I lay out exactly what the problems have been and where Jason Licht and Todd Bowles to correct those problems moving forward.

Conversely, the Rams’ front seven dominated the Buccaneers offensive line as it has in most games this year. Los Angeles recorded four sacks on the night with outside linebacker Jared Verse, a former first-round pick, and defensive tackle Kobie Turner, a former third-round pick, each recording a pair. Third-year outside linebacker Byron Young, who has nine sacks this year, still leads the Rams after recording 17.5 sacks in his first two seasons. Turner had 17 sacks in his first two years in L.A. and now has 4.5 on the year, while Verse now has a career high six sacks after notching 4.5 last year as a rookie.

The Buccaneers must focus a lot of resources on improving their defensive front next year and get better edge rushers, as Haason Reddick, a high-priced 31-year old free agent, and Chris Braswell, last year’s second-round pick, look like busts.

2 PROBING QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1. Did The Bucs Make A Mistake In Signing CB Zyon McCollum To An Extension?

It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it? For all of his athleticism, Zyon McCollum appears to lack the necessary instincts needed to be a true No. 1 cornerback. After signing a three-year, $48 million contract extension in August, McCollum has embarked on his worst season yet. This was truly unnecessary. The Bucs gambled by signing McCollum early to a deal worth $16 million per year, which makes him the league’s 22nd-highest paid cornerback.

Rams WR Davante Adams and Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

Instead, the Bucs should have forced McCollum, who has zero interceptions and just five pass breakups this season, to play on his contract year to truly prove his worth. Tampa Bay did that in 2023 with not just safety Antoine Winfield Jr., but also future Hall of Fame wide receiver Mike Evans. Both had sensational seasons and were handsomely rewarded. In fact, Winfield became the league’s highest-paid defensive back, earning an extension that pays him $21.025 million per year.

The Buccaneers anticipated McCollum earning a contract worth close to $20 million per season with a good year and tried to get him for more of a bargain price. That has backfired so far this season. McCollum, who gave up six catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns to Rams receiver Devante Adams on Sunday Night Football, has had a dreadful season. According to Pro Football Focus, McCollum has allowed a career-high five touchdowns this season with six games left.

“He had a couple bad plays in the first half,” Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said. “I think the last three weeks, he’s got to correct a lot of things within himself. He’s one of our best athletes and best players, and he’s got to get himself out of that rut. We’ve got to help him get out of it. We rely on him to make some plays. He had a rough outing yesterday – he’s got to come back and recover.”

QUESTION 2. Can Teddy Bridgewater Win In Baker Mayfield’s Absence?

I think we’re about to find out. Oh, what could have been for the Traskaholics, right? The Kyle Trask true believers were waiting over four years for a moment like this, but alas, the Bucs replaced him with a more experienced backup in Teddy Bridgewater.

Bridgewater, who barely took any reps in practice this week and flew in on his own on Sunday morning after a funeral for his mentor on Saturday, completed 8-of-15 passes for 62 yards in his Bucs debut and was sacked twice in the second half when he replaced Baker Mayfield. Despite a shaky outing due to the fact that the Rams knew the Bucs had to throw the ball to get back in the game, Bridgewater put up better stats than Trask had in four seasons in Tampa Bay.

We’ll see if the Bucs’ move to add a more experienced veteran like the 32-year old Bridgewater pays off on Sunday against the Cardinals. Meanwhile Trask is in Atlanta on the Falcons’ practice squad as a backup to Kirk Cousins, who is filling in for injured starter Michael Penix Jr.

“He’s a different quarterback, so schematically, we’ll have to do some different things for him to make him feel comfortable within the offense and do a lot of things he likes to do,” Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said. “There are some similar things, but there are also some differences that way to make him more comfortable. He’s been here long enough to where if he had to go, we can tweak it the right way for him to be successful.

2 BOLD PREDICTIONS

QUESTION 1. Bucky Irving Returns This Week

Forget the “Bucky Irving is trending towards playing” talk. Irving will return to action at running back this week against the Cardinals. And with the injury to quarterback Baker Mayfield and the fact that Teddy Bridgewater is poised to start on Sunday, the Bucs could use Irving’s energy and ability to make big plays. Don’t be surprised if Irving is on a pitch count as the team eases him back into the running back rotation as it wants to be careful with his shoulder, which has taken some time to rehab and heal.

If I’m head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, I still prioritize carries and catches for Sean Tucker, especially with how well he’s played after the bye week. So maybe make Irving the No. 2 runner behind him and then position Rachaad White as the team’s third down back moving forward in the three-headed monster at running back. Hopefully Irving’s return can help put an end to Tampa Bay’s three-game losing streak.

QUESTION 2. Bucs Get Back On The Winning Track vs. Cardinals – Regardless Of Who Plays QB

Tampa Bay has got to get back to its winning ways after losing three straight games since the bye week. The Bucs are now 6-5 after being 6-2 coming out of the bye. The good news is that unlike the past two years when the team has lost four straight near midseason and fallen below .500, that hasn’t happened yet with this year’s losing streak. At least not yet. It becomes much more difficult to do without Baker Mayfield, of course. Teddy Bridgewater will need the help of a strong running game on Sunday when the Cardinals come to town because I don’t think he can do it on his own.

Bucs QB Teddy Bridgewater – Photo by: USA Today

Everyone agrees that this is a very favorable stretch for Tampa Bay coming up with three straight games at home. First up is a 3-8 Arizona team that played Jacksonville tough at home before losing in overtime. If the Bucs should beat the Cardinals to end their losing streak, they’ll improve to 7-5. If they don’t win next week then Tampa Bay will be in danger of legitimately losing the NFC South division to Carolina.

Speaking of the division, after the Buccaneers play the Cardinals, they’ll host the Saints and Falcons in consecutive weeks and this team needs to be at least 8-6 after three straight games at home to have a chance to holding on to the division crown and making the playoffs for a sixth straight year.