There is no more margin for error for the Bucs as they gear up to face the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. At 7-8, there is still hope for Tampa Bay should they beat Miami and defeat the Panthers at home in the regular-season finale.

To accomplish that goal, though, the offense must get going early and put up more points. Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard admitted some fault in the run-heavy gameplan last week, and now is the time to involve his best weapons in the wide receiver room.

Bucs’ Offense Must Properly Utilize WRs Emeka Egbuka And Chris Godwin Jr.

Everyone knows about Mike Evans. Since returning to the fold, Evans has been heavily targeted and productive. For as much as he does with a high volume of passes thrown his way and being an elite redzone threat, what also makes him valuable is the attention he draws every down. Opposing defenses need to account for him, which opens up more opportunities for the Bucs’ other wide receivers to eat, too.

Bucs WRs Jalen McMillan, Chris Godwin, Tez Johnson, Sterling Shepard and Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

That means Josh Grizzard finding ways to get Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. the ball with the chance to make plays. Egbuka has had a second-half rookie slump after a hot start, and while he had a 40-yard catch in Week 16, it was his only catch. Grizzard wants that to change.

“We’ve definitely got to try to get the ball to ‘Mek’ earlier in the game and keep him involved,” Grizzard said.

For Godwin, he has had nine catches over the last two games but is averaging just 5.5 yards per catch. That is a drastic shift, as in the two games before that he had four straight catches going for over 20 yards, including a three-catch, 78-yard day in a 20-17 win over the Cardinals.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“I think we can find him on a couple more routes down the field,” Grizzard said about utilizing Godwin. “What Chris has done an unbelievable job [on], especially in [the last] game, being on the road and having a north-of-50-percent conversion rate on third down…A lot of that came from Chris Godwin. On these routes that might not look great on the stat sheet that it’s a five- or six-yard completion, but the one he had in the low red [zone] area and the timing that Baker [Mayfield] had to put that on him to be able to extend that drive…I think we were on the 10- or 15-yard line.

“That’s really what embodies Chris – being in the right spot versus zones and getting it done. He had another good one going back the other way where he’s able to double up the nickel, get a conversion, that ends up leading to points. Chris does a great job for us on third downs and I think we can get him more involved on some of the early downs and pushing it past the sticks a little bit.”

Has Josh Grizzard Learned His Lesson?

Between Josh Grizzard’s comments about involving Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin Jr. earlier and on early downs, the hope is that a lesson was learned in terms of finding offensive balance. It has not happened yet on a consistent basis, with Grizzard coming under fire in recent weeks for having much of the offensive talent back but not having the results to show for it.

Bucs OC Josh Grizzard and QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

For the stubbornness to run the ball and be predictable to a frustrating extent.
For not opening up the playbook more to get the ball to all of the playmakers.
For not trusting quarterback Baker Mayfield with the ball in his hands after all that he accomplished last year and showcased early on in 2025.
When it comes to wide receiver, the Bucs are deeper than any team in the NFL.
Now is the perfect time to show that, unleash their abilities, and correct what has gone wrong.

“I have the utmost confidence,” Grizzard said on the offense being able to reach its full potential. “I think you’ve seen that. I know we didn’t win the game last week, but you started to see that a little bit in Atlanta [and] you see the run game last week. Being able to get both of those things going allows us to be a really good offense to put pressure on them on whether we’re throwing it or running it. This will really be the third week of that from the season where we’re in that spot, and we’ve got a lot of confidence going into the game.”

That confidence has to carry over into production, not just coach speak. There is no more luxury to talk up what needs to change, how they can get better. It is now or never for this Bucs team, and for this offense to finally put the pieces together to end the year on a high note.