There is more that one way to try creating a spark for a struggling offense, which is what the Bucs have right now. Dialing up a new play that hasn’t been called yet on the year, such as a screen pass that picked up a first down by Rachaad White is one way. Maybe it’s calling more plays that have had success earlier in the season. Or perhaps even a trick play to get the offense going.

Or, an offensive coordinator can push the pace of the game by going more up-tempo. The Bucs haven’t pushed the button on that one just yet, but it may be time to start considering it. This would give them an opportunity to control the pace of the game in their own way and push the envelope a bit more.

Tampa Bay has the 27th ranked offense in the NFL. In their last three games, which were all losses, the Bucs are averaging a paltry 12 points per game. That simply won’t cut it in today’s league. Even Tampa Bay’s highest scoring game, a 26-9 win in Week 4 over the Saints, is a misnomer. Ten of those points came from the Bucs’ defense setting up the offense with field position inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. They essentially fell into those points.

Bucs Need To Play Faster

Bucs HC Todd Bowles and Bills HC Sean McDermott – Photo by: USA Today

Where the Bucs really needed to go up-tempo was last Thursday night down 24-10 to the Bills in the fourth quarter. They got the ball with 10:05 to go in the final quarter, and while they did eventually make it a one-score, game cutting the score to 24-18, it took them till 2:40 remaining in the game to do so.

The Bucs took seven minutes and 21 seconds – running 17 plays – to draw within six points. There was no sense of urgency despite being down multiple scores. It felt as if the Bucs were just having a walk in the park, unbeknownst to them that the game was going to be over unless they hurried up.

After a defensive stop late in the game, Tampa Bay got the ball back with 21 seconds to go and no timeouts. This didn’t give the Bucs enough time to march the length of the field, forcing Baker Mayfield to toss a Hail Mary pass that fell incomplete on the last play of the game.

What could Tampa Bay have used there?

More time.

The Bucs needed to score faster and failed to do so. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles gave an explanation on why Tampa Bay didn’t push the pace.

“There’s always thought in doing tempo more,” Bowles said. “But when we did tempo more in the pass, that’s where a lot more penalties occurred. They’re occurring without the tempo. We’ll look into getting back into it.”

Having a revamped offensive line and young receivers makes it understandable that there would be some growing pains early on in the season. But Tampa Bay has played in seven games now. How long can it possibly take to correct issues as simple lining up correcting and not being flagged for a false start?

Being unable to get to plays completed off in a timely fashion sounds like a weak excuse. That shouldn’t be a problem for a high school team, let alone a professional one.

“If it’s not missing a block here and there, then it’s a penalty here or there,” Bowles said of the offensive struggles. “We’ve got to clean it up together. It’s got to be clicking on all cylinders. When we get all our blocks, we get penalties; when we don’t get penalties, we don’t get all of our blocks here and there. Last week, it was one thing, this week, it’s another thing. We’ve just got to keep chopping at it and get better at it. That’s as best as those can be – if everything clicks at the same time.”

What Happened To Bucs’ Use Of Rollouts?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Another element that’s been missing during this losing streak are designed quarterback rollouts and bootlegs. This was supposed to be a staple of offensive coordinator Dave Canales’ system. During training camp and the preseason, Baker Mayfield was often on the move to get out in space time after time and play after play.

Throwing on the run is one of Mayfield’s strengths, and yet the Bucs aren’t playing to it. Is it a coincidence that Mayfield has had passes batted down at the line of scrimmage over the last three games while in standing in the pocket? Probably not. It reared it’s ugly head as well in Week 6 when Mayfield was intercepted after a tipped pass, immediately putting the Lions in scoring position.

Mayfield has been running, but it’s out of necessity. They weren’t designed QB run calls by any means. If the Bucs want to put more points on the board, they should be getting Mayfield out in space and away from defenders much taller than him.

Mayfield has always been able to throw on the run throughout his career. He’s proved it as well coming to Tampa. With many issues coming up for the Bucs offense, why not go to something that has worked?

“Every game is different – they’re not going to be there every game for us,” Bowles said. “We go by what the team is going to give us. Going into the ballgame, they were rushing four and it was good for him to sit back in the pocket. When they didn’t really send more than we could block, he had time to throw the football – we were okay there. We’ve just got to get open down the field and we’ve got to sustain longer. The plays getting out of the backfield, you could see going up the field and going into the game [that] they were pretty fast on the outside so we dropped him back a little more.”