Since Antonio Brown went down with an ankle injury in Week 6, almost every game has been a reminder of how wrong we were about the Bucs depth at wide receiver. Tyler Johnson has struggled to create separation in every game, while Scotty Miller has barely seen the field. Nobody has consistently stepped up as a No. 3 wide receiver with Brown out of the lineup. On Sunday vs the Saints, those problems were exacerbated without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the field.

Evans and Godwin were injured early against the Saints, leaving the Bucs short-handed at wide receiver. Tampa Bay was already without the suspended Brown and Breshad Perriman (COVID). The injuries to Godwin and Evans left them with just three receivers for most of the game. Johnson, Miller and Darden struggled mightily against the Saints secondary.

“Yeah, it was big,” Arians said. “I was hoping [the young guys] would step it up a little bit more with the receivers. Overall, we just dropped too many balls too when we did have some guys open. [The Saints] did a good job. They played that hard man-to-man and we didn’t do a good job of getting open.”

Saints Defensive Scheme vs Backups

The Saints played a ton of 2-man coverage, dropping two safeties deep and bothering the Bucs receivers at the line of scrimmage. Against Evans, Godwin and Brown, that strategy may not have worked. Brady threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns earlier in the year against the Saints with Evans and Godwin.

But with the Bucs depleted at wide receiver, the Saints roasted their diminutive corps. Miller was consistently doubled as the deep option, while Johnson failed to separate underneath. Darden received a couple one-on-one opportunities down the sideline and was dominated by Marshon Lattimore.

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski and Saints SS Malcolm Jenkins – Photo by: USA Today

“It was all coverage,” Arians said. “We like to have the ball out of our hand quickly. They play that tight man and two deep safeties. They took some of those away and made us hold the ball.”

The Bucs tight ends were even worse. Rob Gronkowski dropped three passes and failed to bring in another catchable target. Cam Brate continued his miserable season, dropping two opportunities on great throws from Tom Brady. Also, O.J. Howard had a pass go off his hands and Johnson dropped a target as well.

After the game, Arians didn’t have much to say about Gronkowski’s miserable performance.

“He just dropped it,” Arians said.

Yes, he did. Over and over again.

It was a maddening night for the Bucs pass catchers, who need to get better quickly. A huge game against the Panthers talented secondary looms in Week 16.