Tampa Bay Buccaneers Look to Improve on Third Downs at Carolina

Struggling on third and longs, Bucs look to turn around on key down.

Kim Klement

Last week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers only converted one third down against New Orleans on their way to a 38-3 loss at home. The team finished a measly 1-for-9 on third down.

Even in their six wins this season, Tampa hasn't done well on third down. The Bucs rank near the bottom of the league, converting third downs only 40% of the time. 

Against the Saints, the third downs were barely manageable. Late in the third quarter, Buccaneers' quarterback Tom Brady connected with wide receiver Mike Evans for 16 yards. However, the pass came on third and 23.

Four times on Sunday night the Bucs faced eight-or-more yards on third downs and all four times, the team didn't convert.

Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich admitted Thursday he doesn't know why the Bucs are struggling in third-and-long situations.

"That’s something we talked about really all this week of trying to get better at," Leftwich told local media Thursday. "[With] the guys that we have – normally when we come to the table with what we need to do to improve, to get better to help this football team – there’s been a lot of work in that department to get better at it."

Brady knows this is an area the team must improve on if they want to continue to win games, but said there is a lot Tampa Bay needs to do better at.

"We’ve got to do a lot of things better," Brady said. "We’re six and three – we’re not nine and [zero] – so any time you’ve lost games, you’ve got to do things a lot better in a lot of different areas. I think part of that is just coming into work every day and improving individually, improving as a team, and getting to know one another."

Buccaneers' head coach Bruce Arians explained what he looks for when deciding what plays to call when facing third down and long.

“I think most of it is match-up stuff," Arians said Friday. "If you leave two tight ends out there, do they stay in [a] base or do they still go nickel? If they go to nickel, you don’t really have a matchup that you’re looking for. Is our fourth wide receiver a better matchup than their fifth or sixth corner? Then you look for those matchups. But, we’ve got to do a better job of protecting and completing balls.”

While the Bucs might struggle on third downs, Arians believes this isn't only a Tampa Bay issue.

“I don’t think anybody’s really good from 9-to-12 [or] 9-to-14 [yards]," Arians said. "You want to stay out of those downs. But, yeah, 6-to-9 [yards] has to improve.”

Of course, one way to avoid third and long situations is to simply have success offensively on first and second downs.

"Well, third down is a tough down in football, period," Brady said. "I think the key is first and second down. Third downs are a lot better when you do well on first and second down.”

This week, the Buccaneers have an opportunity to improve on third downs. Sunday's opponent, the Carolina Panthers, allows opposing teams to convert 54% of the time on third down, which ranks dead last in the league. 

In the last three games for the Panthers' defense, that number has been closer to 62%, in three straight losses to the Saints, Atlanta Falcons, and Kansas City Chiefs.

The first time these two teams faced each other, the Bucs finished 5-of-11 on third down. 

"I trust in the guys [and] I trust in myself that we’ll get this thing fixed and just become a better team in those third-and-long situations," Leftwich said.