The Bucs offense was always going to be a work in progress at the start of this season. The unit features a new offensive coordinator in Dave Canales, a new quarterback in Baker Mayfield, a new starting running back in Rachaad White and a largely reshuffled offensive line.

In fact, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are really the only constants when you compare this Tampa Bay offense with the units from past years.

So yes, there were going to be mistakes. The Bucs weren’t going to come out and score 30 points per game after so much transition. But Tampa Bay did win its first two games — 20-17 and 27-17.

Eagles DT Fletcher Cox and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Then came Monday night, when the team put up its worst performance of the season against one of the league’s best defenses in a 25-11 loss to the defending NFC champion Eagles. It was an ugly night for Mayfield and the offense, but the 28-year-old quarterback is confident that the Bucs had plenty of correctable issues that they can resolve going forward into Week 4 and beyond.

“I think the biggest thing… my attitude is there are a lot of things that we can control,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “The Eagles are a great team, and they made a lot of great plays – I’m not taking anything away from them – but there are a lot of things that we can control to get better.

“When you look at it on tape, we can fix those things. It’s in our control. It’s in our hands. That’s why everybody needs to be positive – the world is not ending for us.”

Philadelphia’s defense is very good — and it did make a lot of plays on Monday night. But Tampa Bay also left some plays out there, as Mayfield alluded to. Todd Bowles lamented earlier this week that there were some running lanes that Rachaad White should’ve hit. And Mayfield pointed to some easy throws he felt he should’ve made in the game.

“Hitting the easy stuff,” Mayfield said. “Like I mentioned earlier, hitting Deven Thompkins on that deep-crosser play. Taking some of those shots. And even the ball to Mike [Evans] in the end zone, it wasn’t my best ball by any means. I could’ve made it easy on him.

“Just taking exactly what’s there and making it easy on our guys because they’re great playmakers, so there is no reason to make it harder. I think, obviously, taking care of the ball. I’d like to eliminate the interception, and then taking everything that’s easy there for us.”

Dave Canales Agrees That His Bucs Offense Has The Ability To Make Some Corrections

Bucs OC Dave Canales and HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

So, what did new offensive coordinator Dave Canales think about the Bucs’ offensive mistakes on Monday night? As it turned out, he was in agreement with his quarterback when he spoke to the media on Thursday.

“I think [Baker Mayfield] hit it right on the head. If it was schematic things or if there were wholesale changes, I’d be more concerned,” Canales said. “But when you look at the tape, we’re talking about throwing and catching, we’re talking about taking care of the ball with an interception and a fumble – our first two turnovers of the year.

“It just makes it harder against a really elite team. We talk about championship football – wanting to be a playoff team – those are the types of teams that we have to be able to make those plays on. They made theirs, we didn’t make ours.”

The Bucs certainly aren’t a championship team yet, but at 2-1, they can continue to build themselves into a playoff team. The offense is still growing and establishing its new identity with so many new pieces and even some familiar pieces in new places. That’s going to be a process, but Canales knows where the Bucs are — and he knows where they need to go.

“Going back to the attitude and style that we’re trying to create here, we’re not where we need to be,” Canales said. “As far as the mix and the style of things we’re doing, I love what we’re doing. ‘Goodie’ (Harold Goodwin) has been putting some great run plans together with the whole group. As we go through it, it feels really good – the mix and variety of things we have.

“What happens is, when guys know what to do, you see fast and aggressive play. That’s where, to me, I can see that and understand that we’re not there yet. We know what they are, but the understanding of, ‘Man, I know this like the back of my hand – whatever they put in front of me, I know how to adjust.’ We’re still growing there.”