Instant Reactions to Bucs' Awful Loss to Broncos

They got cooked.

Sep 22, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) is sacked by Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper (0) in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

You win some, you lose some, as the saying goes. And on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost badly to the 0-2 Denver Broncos.

Things looked good after Week 2 when Tampa Bay toppled Detroit 20-16, and going into this game, they had a chance to roll at 3-0 against a 0-2 Broncos team that had been poor the prior two weeks. Things didn't go to plan, though, as Tampa Bay got absolutely shelled on home turf 26-7 by Sean Payton's team. Almost everything went wrong, but there are three things in particular to pinpoint here:

Mike Evans needs to get the ball more

At the beginning of the year, Bucs OC Liam Coen told the media that he plans on utilizing "players over plays" — put simpler, that if the team has weapons, they'll get them the ball. It seemed that he didn't follow his own advice on Sunday.

Mike Evans is Tampa Bay's best wide receiver and among the best in the league, but he wasn't getting the attention he deserved from Tampa Bay's offense. Evans only had three targets and caught two for just 17 yards, and while the Chris Godwin renaissance is nice to see, Coen simply has to scheme Evans the ball a little more often. Denver stuck to Godwin, and while he had six catches and a touchdown, Evans simply has to be more involved.

The pass rush was invisible (and did nothing when they appeared)

Tampa Bay's pass rush was quite simply abysmal on Sunday, and when they were confronted with the little opportunities they had, they let them slip away.

The Bucs were entirely unable to get pressure with four and equally struggled when they blitzed, allowing Bo Nix to freely operate in the pocket. When they did pressure him, he was able to slip away, with Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson both missing opportunities to sack the rookie quarterback. Todd Bowles likes to point out that other teams "get the ball out quick" when it comes to not getting sacks, but it seems like teams have been doing that a lot to the Buccaneers as of recent.

Baker Mayfield didn't play his best game

Far from it, in fact. Mayfield tried a lot of the things that he was successful with the past two weeks, but he wasn't playing his smartest football on Sunday.

Mayfield got sacked 7 (!) times, and while a lot of that is on the offensive line and the absence of Luke Goedeke, he admitted himself that some of those were on him — and he's right. His indecisiveness with football was apparent all day, and it caused problems in the pocket that occasionally led to him going down and ruining drives in the process.

Additionally, his arm wasn't on. He threw an awful pick on a ball intended for Mike Evans, seemingly oblivious to the safety lurking over the top. He's been playing good football as of recent, but today was a big step back and he can't let that happen again going forward.

The Bucs need Luke Goedeke back

Tampa Bay's offensive line has more work to do than just Goedeke's side. Tristan Wirfs has been poor to start the year at left tackle, Cody Mauch has gotten shellshocked at nearly every opportunity and Graham Barton, while playing well, is still a rookie. But Goedeke's absence is sorely missed, and the attitude and synergy he brings to the line is clearly valuable.

Baker Mayfield has been under a comical amount of pressure for two weeks now, and while there's blame to throw around everywhere, the line really needs to get healthy in time for a harder schedule ahead. Hopefully, Luke Goedeke is able to come back soon and get back to working with Tampa Bay's complete starting line.

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