The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 0-4 for the first time since 2014. And after what we watched at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the most uncomfortable question in Bucs Nation right now deserves to be asked out loud.
Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the worst team in the NFL?
THE OFFENSE: NOT ENOUGH WITHOUT BAKER
Jalon Daniels competed. Give him that. For an undrafted rookie making his first career NFL start, he showed moments of genuine composure and athletic ability that gave this offense a pulse it has been missing in recent weeks. But moments of composure and athletic ability do not put enough points on the scoreboard to beat even a very poor Green Bay Packers offense, and 14 points confirmed that reality in the most painful way possible.
The running game showed flashes but could not sustain itself for sixty minutes. The passing game was limited by the natural constraints of a rookie quarterback learning on the job. And the offensive line, which has been the defining problem of this entire 0-4 start, continued to make life difficult by failing to give Daniels clean pockets and consistent protection when he needed it most.
Fourteen points. Against a Packers defense that has been decidedly average through four weeks of the season. That is simply not good enough to win NFL football games.
THE DEFENSE: GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN, NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO CLOSE
Here is the maddening part of Sunday's loss. The Buccaneers' defense gave the team a chance to win against a Packers offense that has been poor through four weeks of the season. Although Jordan Love was not made to be uncomfortable at any point by a very unimpressive Bucs pass rush, and the fact the Packers were able to run the ball better than they have all season. There were still stretches where this defense looked like it had the game somewhat in hand.
But they let the Packers control too much clock at times. And 17 points allowed to a Packers offense that has no business putting 17 points on anyone right now. That is the bottom line.
0-4: ARE THE BUCS THE WORST TEAM IN THE NFL?
It is no longer an outrageous question. The Miami Dolphins are bad, though they did give the Kansas City Chiefs a real game last week. There are several teams around the league with genuine personnel and coaching problems that rival what we are watching in Tampa right now.
But 0-4 is 0-4. Twelve losses in the last sixteen games dating back to last season. An offense that cannot score consistently with or without its starting quarterback. A defense that cannot make the big play when the game demands it. And a coaching staff that has shown no meaningful ability to adjust, adapt, or elevate this roster beyond its current ceiling of competitive mediocrity.
The Buccaneers may not be the single worst team in the NFL through four weeks. But they are firmly in that conversation.
WILL BOWLES GET FIRED? DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH
Here is the question everyone is asking and the answer everyone already knows. Will Todd Bowles be fired during the season?
Probably not. And the reason probably not is the same reason this franchise has been content with mediocrity for multiple seasons running. Making a midseason coaching change requires a real decision. A bold decision. A decision that acknowledges publicly and formally that a significant mistake was made in bringing this coach back for another year. That kind of decisive, accountable organizational action requires a level of competitive urgency that this ownership group and this front office have not demonstrated in quite some time.
It is much easier to play it safe. To say the right things publicly. To point to injuries and bad luck and a difficult schedule. To run out the rest of the season, evaluate everything in January, and make measured, careful decisions in the offseason. That is what safe, comfortable organizations do. And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have become a very safe, very comfortable organization.
Besides, we should all take a moment to appreciate what we have at One Buc Palace. A genuinely wonderful group of human beings. Coaches and players of tremendous character, class, and integrity. There are probably several legitimate candidates for Walter Payton Man of the Year on this roster right now.
It makes you proud to be a fan. It really does.
Now if only any of it translated into wins on Sunday afternoons.Â
Its completely normal to have an optimistic or even hopeful outlook in the offseason, but there was always the risk that the team would start slow and things would unravel from there. As it tuns out the Bucs killed themselves against a decent Bengals team, lost to a better than expected Browns team and to a better than expected Vikings team. If they were 3-0 or even 2 and 1 ging into today, you might look at this game as a loss with a rookie, but instead it looks like a team that is mailing it in because they dont believe the coaches can win.
We suck. Tank. New regime add Smith.
Quick turnaroundÂ
We suck. Tank.
they may do that even if they dont want to because who would they turn to if they fired Bowles now anyway
https://www.pewterreport.com/bucs-no-good-answers-in-building/
