Baker Mayfield threw for 237 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Bucs lost their third straight game to leave their season hanging by a thread.
So what’s gone wrong for the Bucs? Is there any way back? Let’s take a look in our three takeaways from the game.
BAKER MAYFIELD MAY BE GOOD ENOUGH
I’ve said this before, and I’m still thinking it. Baker Mayfield is not, largely, the reason for the Buss struggles. Sure he’s not always great, but he was very close to pulling out a miracle with a last second Hail Mary that no-one touched, even though it landed between Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
25/42-237-2-0 is a stat line that could win you many a game, and while they’ve struggled of late themselves, the Bills are a good team. Mayfield needs help, and that starts with better coaching.
BUCS COACHING NEEDS TO BE BETTER
After the game HC Todd Bowles said, “I thought everybody fought their tails off tonight. The effort wasn’t our problem. We hung together, we were tough, we clawed, we scratched, we fought our way back in there. We were right there. A few plays here or there, a few penalties here or there. We feel like we can get better from that.”
And while that is pretty much spot on, it was just a few plays here or there, there was also some baffling play calling. While throwing the ball 42 times, Tampa Bay rushed only 17 times. It’s not that it wasn’t working, it average 4.59-yards per-carry, it’s just that they didn’t call it.
That needs to be fixed quickly.
BUCS D IS SOLID
Against a Bills team featuring Josh Allen playing at a high level, Stefon Diggs and Dalton Kincaid the Bucs D put up a good fight. 24 points is a little on the high side if you wanted to call the defence elite, but against the Bills that’s a solid days work.
After their first drive of the second half the Bills did no score again which kept the Bucs in the game. The adjustments worked and they gave the offence that one last shot at the end zone. If the offence can pull themselves together, the D can definitely get them some wins.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 17 | 25 |
| Passing 1st downs | 10 | 16 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 3 | 8 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 4 | 1 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 4-15 | 7-13 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| Total Plays | 62 | 68 |
| Total Yards | 302 | 427 |
| Total Drives | 11 | 11 |
| Yards per Play | 4.9 | 6.3 |
| Passing | 224 | 312 |
| Comp-Att | 25-42 | 31-40 |
| Yards per pass | 5.0 | 7.4 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 3-13 | 2-12 |
| Rushing | 78 | 115 |
| Rushing Attempts | 17 | 26 |
| Yards per rush | 4.6 | 4.4 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 1-1 | 2-4 |
| Penalties | 11-74 | 9-86 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 28:03 | 31:57 |
For more like this, you can visit our NFL section here. Also, follow us on Facebook for coverage of the NFL and much more.