It’s no secret the Bucs have struggled the early part of the season with mental mistakes and penalties. Through six games, the Bucs have racked up 47 penalties for a total of 471 yards. That number ties Tampa Bay for the second most infractions in the NFL this season. The Bucs also lead the league in penalty yardage by 40 yards. On Tuesday, head coach Bruce Arians was critical of his team’s struggles to avoid self-inflicting mistakes.

“Hopefully preparation will be a little bit better than it was last week,” Arians said. “I was not pleased with the number of mental errors we had in that game on the road again. Obviously, three critical penalties. So there’s some things we have to correct before it ends up costing us a game.”

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: USA Today

The penalties Arians is referring to are two pass interference penalties that cost the team 45 and 50 yards. Both put the Eagles in position to score touchdowns. The other play was an offensive holding that dug a 1st and 20-yard hole the Bucs didn’t convert.

“We’ve got to eliminate those major penalties that are all fundamentals,” Arians said. “Those two pass interference penalties, that holding penalty. We’ve got to eliminate those kind of penalties when it’s fundamental errors. Not give them two touchdowns on penalties. For us, it’s just don’t beat us.”

The Bucs lead the league with a whopping 20 pre-snap penalties so far this season. Surprisingly, they have more flags at home than on the road. Their -208 net yards, including penalty yardage that has gone their way, is worst in the league by over 40 yards.

Last season, Week 5 against the Chicago Bears was the turning point for the Bucs when it came to mental mistakes and penalties. Surely Arians and the team are hoping this season’s Bears game can be that same sort of catalyst. If the Bucs can’t overcome these mental errors, it might eventually cost them a game.