This week, the Bucs will be going for two in a row.
Last week, the Bucs came off their bye week and got a win against the New York Giants. The victory moved Tampa to 5-6, giving them an opportunity to claw their way back to .500 this week. The Bucs will travel to North Carolina to battle with the Carolina Panthers, so—
How can the Bucs win this game?
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On Sunday, the Bucs will be entering a game they ‘should’ win for the second consecutive week. The Panthers are coming off one of their better games, a near upset of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Still, the Bucs at their best are a much better team than Carolina at theirs. Tampa Bay should lean on their strengths. Liam Coen’s offense has been Tampa’s best side of the ball and their best asset has been the unit’s rushing attack.
The 2024 Tampa Bay Bucs have three separate backs that they have turned to at different points of the season and received very positive results from. Coen was brought to Tampa, in part, to fix the team’s inability to run the football (ranked dead last in yards per game in each of the last two seasons). Coen has understood the assignment. Through 11 games, Tampa has had a top-10 rushing offense. With over 1,400 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns— Against a lesser team, like Carolina, the Bucs don’t need to make the game dramatic. Tampa can and should simply deploy their best gameplan and make the Panthers play on their terms.
How can the Bucs lose this game?
A defensive revert. During Todd Bowles’ Tampa Bay tenure, as both a defensive coordinator and now head coach, the Bucs’ defense has been largely a potent unit— This year has spun a different web. The Bucs have been depleted by injuries in 2024 and while Tampa’s offense has maintained a respectable level of play, the team’s defense has not found that level.
Prior to their bye week, Tampa was only able to hold opponents Beneath 27 points in one of their previous 6 games, however, last week Bowles’ group had an extra week to prepare and it showed. With four sacks and just seven points allowed the Bucs’ defense looked all the way back to the group Tampa Bay fans used to rave about.
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The natural push back would be that the Bucs played the lowly Giants— with that acknowledged, should the team be able to continue their dominance from a week ago, this Sunday has a good chance to be a second win stacked in a potential late-season run.
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