A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough Bucs question. This week’s prompt: What most concerns you about the Bucs down the stretch of the season?

Scott Reynolds: Baker Mayfield’s Health Concerns Me

So goes Baker Mayfield, so goes the Buccaneers this year. The team will go as far as its play-making quarterback will take them. With 16 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions, Mayfield has been the catalyst for Tampa Bay’s hot 6-3 start. When he’s played clutch football, the Bucs have won last-second thrillers against the Falcons, the Texans, and even the Jets. When he’s been on top of his game, Tampa Bay has beaten some of the NFC’s toughest teams in Seattle and San Francisco.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

But when Mayfield hasn’t played well the Bucs haven’t won, evidenced by losses to the Eagles and the Lions. Mayfield played relatively well – outside of third downs – against the Patriots with three touchdowns and no interceptions. But the fact that Tampa Bay was just 5-of-13 on third downs – and that Mayfield only had two passes out of 10 dropbacks convert on those situations – illuminated his uneven performance in the loss to New England. One element to Mayfield’s game that was missing against the Patriots was his ability to scramble. It’s obvious that Mayfield is not looking to run because he’s hurt. Head coach Todd Bowles said Mayfield was 50% by the bye week, which was much needed.

Mayfield is dealing with a knee injury and an oblique injury and that has limited his effectiveness as a runner. In fact, Mayfield doesn’t have a single rushing yard since the 49ers game and hasn’t had a carry in the last three games. The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback helped the Bucs win earlier in the season by extending plays with his legs and converting third downs by averaging a career-high 7.7 yards per carry. Keeping Mayfield healthy down the stretch is going to be crucial for Tampa Bay as he is the engine of the offense and the heartbeat of this team. If Mayfield goes down, so does the Bucs’ ship in 2025.

Matt Matera: Not Knowing When Injured Bucs Will Return 

Injuries are not fair, but it’s the reality that the Bucs are living in this season. It feels like week in and week out another starter is exiting a game that costs them several weeks. Starting left guard Ben Bredeson is the latest example, injuring his hamstring against the Patriots in the first quarter. They already have right guard Cody Mauch and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey out for the season, while legendary receiver Mike Evans may not back until the postseason.

The Bucs weathered the storm with not having left tackle Tristan Wirfs for the beginning of the season, but then Luke Goedeke got injured in Week 2 and didn’t come back until Week 10 after missing seven games. Then the current issue for Tampa Bay is that they’re without running back Bucky Irving and wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr., who are each major factors in Tampa Bay’s offense. That’s where the biggest issue has been.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Where the Bucs are hurting most on offense is the lack of explosive plays. Irving provides that, and Godwin at least draws attention, taking the heat off of rookie receivers Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson. The Bucs just don’t have enough playmakers without the two of them and Evans, and that is why the offense has struggled over the last three games. Tamp Bay’s defense hasn’t been as banged up, although cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum each missed a game and outside linebacker Haason Reddick has missed has missed the last two games. Todd Bowles doesn’t seem to have any clue on when Irving, Godwin or Reddick will return, as all of them have been listed as week-to-week – for weeks now. And that is concerning.

Adam Slivon: Bucs Can’t Afford Any More Injuries

The Bucs are in the middle of a tough stretch, having already lost two of the past three games and having two tough opponents ahead of them in as many weeks. While Tampa Bay showed early on that it is a resilient team, the Bucs can only withstand so many blows to their roster. In particular, injuries have largely decimated the offense, leaving a shell of what it was and expected to be. Seemingly every week, injuries have struck key starters. Going forward, that has me most concerned.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

Just as one player comes back, another player goes down. One can look at right tackle Luke Goedeke returning, but then losing left guard Ben Bredeson later on in the game. Before that, Chris Godwin Jr. returned from a fractured and dislocated ankle and suffered a new fibula injury in short order. Mike Evans was also sidelined with a hamstring injury that cost him three games, but then broke his clavicle upon his return in Detroit. Seeing what this team could be is more of a thought exercise than possibility at this point.

More so than in years past, one wonders what the health is for just about every starter. Most of them are fighting through it, with lengthy injury reports just about every week in Tampa Bay. That leaves me concerned about who the next dominoes are to fall. It is never something you want to see, but it seems inevitable for the Bucs this season. Not to mention, the Bills and Rams have a real chance at dampening the hot start Tampa Bay has had this year with a 6-3 record. More injuries would only make it more of an uphill climb than it already is.

Bailey Adams: I Worry Tampa Bay’s Run Game Might Never Take Off

Injuries have certainly been the biggest concern for this Bucs team all season, especially on offense. And unfortunately, the health of this team will continue to top the list of concerns down the stretch. But straying away from that topic, at least to an extent, I’d say one of my biggest worries with Tampa Bay going forward is that its run game may never reach or even sniff the level it was at a year ago. And that will limit this offense and perhaps keep it from being a Super Bowl-contending unit.

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

There’s certainly a strong case to be made that the injuries the Bucs have dealt with is the reason why their run game ranks 25th and averages under 100 yards per game after ranking fourth last year with nearly 150 yards per game. The offense will go this entire season without playing a single snap with the entire starting offensive line together, which definitely hurts.

Even if and when Ben Bredeson comes back, I think Cody Mauch’s absence will continue to be a problem for the rushing attack. Not to mention, Bucky Irving’s injury has put a dent in that aspect of the Tampa Bay offense. And at this point, it’s hard to tell when he’ll be back, much less whether he’ll be able to be the player he was as a rookie given his foot and shoulder issues this year.

Whatever the cause of the run game’s decline is, there has to be some concern that Tampa Bay won’t get back to the way it was running the ball last year. And if that’s the case, more pressure will be on the shoulders of a clearly injured Baker Mayfield and a receiving corps that is without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan. The offense becoming one-dimensional due to an ineffective run game might not keep this team from a fifth straight division title, but it could put a stop to any hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs toward a Super Bowl.

Josh Queipo: Bucs Need Better Communication On Offense

The Bucs fielded their best offensive line of the season last week against the Patriots – for all of one drive. And even after losing left guard Ben Bredeson to a hamstring injury on the extra point of their first touchdown on the opening drive, they largely kept quarterback Baker Mayfield clean. Center Graham Barton had his best game of the season in pass protection and in the running game, and showed that he can potentially be the top-5 player at his position the Bucs believe him to be. Despite Mayfield getting pressured on just 14 of his 45 dropbacks, it was some of the most crucial plays at the end of the game when the Patriots were able to fully disrupt what the Bucs were trying to do on offense.

Bucs C Graham Barton, LG Mike Jordan and RT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

No play was more crucial than the fourth-and-3 where Mayfield was unable to get a decent pass off due to immediate pressure. That play, like so many this season, was killed not by an offensive lineman losing one-on-one battle, but because the interior of Tampa Bay’s offensive line was unable to communicate and properly shift to account for a particular game from the defensive front. As such, a looping defender was able to come right up the gut into Mayfield’s face unblocked. He was able to avoid a would-be sack, but his flip to Rachaad White didn’t pick up the first down.

Add in several plays where receivers seem too close to each other in the Patriots game, likely meaning route spacing or hots aren’t getting communicated to all eligible receivers (wide receivers, tight ends and running backs) correctly, and it is communication that worries me the most going forward. If these can get cleaned up things will get better on offense and the Bucs will get closer to the ceiling of what they can be.