FAB 3. THESE BUCS ARE ROAD WARRIORS
Here’s one of the craziest stats you’ve ever heard of lately.

Out of the 10 games the Buccaneers have won since 2014, seven of them have come on the road and just three of them have come at home.

So much for home field advantage.

The Bucs were winless at home at 2014 for the only time since the 1976 inaugural season. The only two wins in Lovie Smith’s first year as head coach came on the road at Pittsburgh and at Washington.

Last year, the Bucs won six games with three victories coming at Raymond James Stadium against Jacksonville, Atlanta and Dallas, and three outside of Tampa Bay at New Orleans, at Atlanta and at Philadelphia.

This year, both of the Bucs’ wins have come on the road at Atlanta and at Carolina, while the Bucs have lost a road game at Arizona and both home games against Los Angeles and Denver.

Bucs WR Russell Shepard – Photo by: Getty Images

The Bucs have a disappointing 10-27 record since the 2014 season, but on the road Tampa Bay is a respectable 7-14, while the team is a dismal 3-13 at Raymond James Stadium.

The Bucs have no home-field advantage, and it’s quite baffling.

“I really don’t know – maybe the teams we’re playing?” Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans said. “It’s weird, but that’s how it was when I was at A&M. I think we had one or two losses on the road and four or five losses at home in my two years there.

“I don’t know what it is. We’re not any more nervous at home or on the road. We should be winning more at home like most teams. Hopefully we can start and turn it around.”

The good news for these road warrior Buccaneers is that Sunday’s game is … on the road, of course.

Tampa Bay will have the chance to improve to 8-14 away from Ray-Jay and even its 2016 record at 3-3 with a win over a San Francisco team that got pummeled 45-17 last week at Buffalo.

“Me personally, I like playing on the road,” Bucs cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah said. “Whether it’s at home or on the road, it doesn’t make a difference for me. I know road games, especially West Coast trips, tend to be a bit tougher on teams, but it seems like we’ve been able to do the job when it comes to taking care of business on the road and we want to keep that going.

“If you can win on the road in this league, we’re making our jobs easier in terms of winning at home, which those wins will come. That’s huge, I mean our focus right now is solely on the 49ers this weekend, but looking ahead at the schedule, we do have three home games coming up and we definitely have to take care of business. We’ve got to protect our house.”

Adjei-Barimah is right. Whether the Bucs beat the 49ers on the road (they should) and come back 3-3 or lose and return to Tampa Bay 2-4, the upcoming three-game home stand against Oakland, Atlanta and Chicago will determine the Bucs’ fate this season.

“We’ve got to change that, definitely have to change that,” Bucs left guard Kevin Pamphile said. “I feel great at home, but I also feel great on the road, too. I don’t like to travel that much, but that’s a crazy stat. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why that would come up and we would lose so much at home.

“We have Oakland, Atlanta and Chicago next [after San Francisco], so, those games will be important especially to showcase to our fans and give them a great game for those three games.”

Bucs fans wanting the team to lose in 2014 for the first overall draft pick in 2015 – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

With just three wins at Raymond James Stadium out of the last 18 games, I don’t know who feels worse – the players or the Bucs fans and season ticket holders who have shelled out a lot of money only to walk away miserable.

“It’s been tough on the fans, but from our standpoint, just seeing a full stadium, it’s good for our players and our morale,” Bucs receiver Russell Shepard said. “It’s good for your confidence when you see that the city is behind you. Vice versa, whether it’s a father bringing his son or a player having a son in the stands, when we can win I think it’s just great for both sides. We’ve just got to do it.”

Shepard said that the fact that the Bucs are a young team with more possible distractions from visiting family and friends and ticket requests could be a source of the problem.

“It could be,” Shepard said. “I think players learn how to deal with family and distractions. I think that’s something just in general that all teams have to deal with. It definitely plays a part in it, but it’s one of 100 things that we need to do better.”

Bucs tight end Brandon Myers agreed.

“At this level, when you have family coming into town, some people might not know how to pull away from that,” Myers said. “I know a lot of times when friends come in, they don’t that they’re here on vacation and you’re here because it’s your job. Maybe just the little details on the road where we know that we have to be dialed in. Maybe for whatever reason we lack that at home. I know we’re working on it. Winning at home is the best in front of your fans, especially our fans.

“I think if anyone knew the answer, we probably would’ve figured it out by now. Every week we have a good week of practice, but for whatever reason, I don’t know if it’s the travel, being away, getting out of your comfort zone. But that’s a million dollar question because if people knew the answer then it would be changed.”

The Bucs haven’t won more than three home games in a season since Tampa Bay went 10-6 in 2010. That year, the Raheem Morris-led Bucs won four games at home and six on the road.

Bucs QB Jameis Winston – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Even when the Bucs went 7-9 in 2012 in Greg Schiano’s first year as head coach, four of those victories came on the road compared to three at home.

The last time Tampa Bay won more home games than away games in a season was in 2008 in Jon Gruden’s last season as the Bucs head coach. The team posted a 9-7 mark that year, but won six of eight home games, finishing with a record of 3-7 on the road. Since 2008, Tampa Bay has won more road games (19) than home games (16).

“Obviously, we need to learn how to win at home better with a young team, but it shows that we can win on the road,” Shepard said. “I think being a young team, being a team that was high on penalties last year, I think we can do a better job of taking advantage of playing at home. The things that come with playing at home — you know, crowd noise and penalties — it’s things of that nature because teams get frustrated in an uncomfortable environment. I think if we can keep playing how we’re playing — penalty-free ball, smart ball, not killing ourselves — I think the wins at home will increase.”

After returning from San Francisco, these road warriors will have plenty of opportunities to change the recent trend of losing at home.