There are a number of reasons why the Bucs still have a zero in the loss column after two games.

A run defense that looks stronger than it did last year has helped. Getting a strong pass rush against both Kirk Cousins and Justin Fields has contributed as well. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin being Mike Evans and Chris Godwin is another reason.

But the biggest key to Tampa Bay’s 2-0 start? Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense haven’t turned the ball over through two games.

“Definitely a correlation,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said after Sunday’s win over the Bears. “If you don’t turn it over, you give yourself a chance to win, you know. Ball possession and time possession are ultimately very important. You keep the other team off the field, everybody has a potent offense. The more you keep them off the field, the better.”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And to go with that, Bowles’ defense has forced five turnovers in two games. That makes for a turnover margin of plus-five for Tampa Bay.

Having an advantage in the turnover margin is always going to set a team up to win games. That’s especially the case in the NFL, a league that sees games go down to the wire on a weekly basis. There can be a small difference between wins and losses, and the Bucs have seen that so far in 2023.

Their Week 1 win was by three points, and in the end, Minnesota’s three turnovers loomed large. Tampa Bay took care of the football and reaped the benefits.

Week 2 was a bit different, as the Bucs sacked Fields five times, but hadn’t taken the ball away in the first 57:57 of the game. The Bears were down just three and had the ball, but it was then that the Bucs struck and created a turnover, with Shaq Barrett making a heady play.

Barrett read Fields perfectly, dropped back and made a one-handed interception. He was then pushed forward into the end zone for a game-clinching pick six. Then, to end any more hopes Chicago might’ve had, rookie Christian Izien grabbed his second interception in as many games.

Those were two massive turnovers forced by the defense to seal the game. And in the other column — the offensive one — there was a zero. The turnover battle has gone to the Bucs in two straight games, and that’s the biggest reason they’ve won both of them.

Bucs Have Emphasized The Turnover Margin All Offseason

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

All offseason, the Bucs defense has talked about generating more turnovers in 2023. Whether it was Bowles, Antoine Winfield Jr., Carlton Davis or Jamel Dean, there was plenty of talk about turning pass breakups into interceptions.

“Just gotta learn how to catch ’em,” Bowles said in August. “We knock down more balls than we catch. We’ve got to be able to get turnovers this year – we can’t knock them down.

“It’s always critical,” Bowles added. “Any time you can get the offense back as many times as possible, you try to get them the ball back. So, turnovers lessen the possessions on the other side of the ball and it helps us.”

That’s why the Bucs need to see their defense become the “Grave Diggers” again. It was that penchant for taking the ball away — and the swagger and confidence that came with it — that helped Tampa Bay make its run to Super Bowl LV in 2020.

Offensively, playing clean football has been part of Dave Canales’ message from the moment he was introduced as the Bucs’ new offensive coordinator.

“Number one, it’s all about the ball,” Canales said in his introductory press conference. “Everything we do with all 11 guys on the offense, it’s going to be about protecting the football. Whether it’s in the run game, pass game or protection, we are going to be crazy about it.”

Part of that commitment was hiring Skip Peete as his new running backs coach. Peete previously coached the running backs in Dallas, and the Cowboys had zero lost fumbles from their running backs last year.

“He could have started that interview with that, dropped the mic and he would’ve been hired,” Canales said at the time.

The commitment to playing turnover-free football has clearly been well communicated as the Bucs have prepared for this season.

The Bucs Are Being “Smart” With The Football Through Two Games

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Canales’ offense has been described as quarterback-friendly. It’s designed to be efficient, and it’s supposed to put the Bucs’ best playmakers in a position to succeed. And through the first two games of the regular season, it’s starting to come together. While there are bound to still be growing pains in the weeks ahead, one thing that the unit can continue to build on is how smart and safe it has been with the ball.

“Absolutely, that’s a huge emphasis for us every week is take care of the ball,” left tackle Tristan Wirfs said Sunday. “It’s so important to winning ball games. Not giving them free possessions. …[The defense is] helping us out, getting turnovers. The least we can do is hold on to the football and be smart with it and be secure with it. If we have to, finish drives with a punt rather than just giving it to them.”

When asked how much credit quarterback Baker Mayfield gets for the Bucs’ turnover-free start to the season, Wirfs had praise for both his quarterback and the players around him.

“I think a lot of it,” Wirfs said. “We do our best to hold up in protection, but he’s the one slinging the rock. The receivers, backs, tight ends, they’re the ones holding onto it. So it’s just them doing their jobs, us doing our jobs and all of us fighting, fighting our balls off.”

Tampa Bay is going to keep fighting, too, as the team tries to three-peat as NFC South champions. There’s a long way to go this season, but as long as the Bucs continue to protect the football on offense and take it away on defense, they’re going to have a chance.