Let’s not beat around the bush league here; the Bucs are in the Playoffs and they made it by showing no mercy to the wounded Detroit Lions!!! A 13-year long drought finally comes to an end as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers put the league’s second-longest Playoff drought behind them and look forward to bettering their position with a win over the Falcons in week 17.

Arians will not sit his starters because, well, Mike Evans has history to make.

Evans, who is no doubt elite, joined elite company on Saturday with guys named Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Calvin Johnson, and Sterling Sharpe, as the only players in history to achieve 500 receptions, 60 touchdowns, and 8,000-yards through the first seven years of their career. Evans had already joined Randy Moss as the two receivers in history to gain or surpass 1,000-yards in each of their first six seasons, with 40-yards on Sunday; Mike Evans stands alone as the only one to do it in the first seven seasons.

Bruce Arians already stated it will be one game at a time and that he will not sit his starting players against the Falcons, but he isn’t exactly worried about whether the Bucs will be 5th or 6th seed in the playoffs, he just wants his guys to control their destined spot. It’s a pride thing.

“We’re going to play to win. Eleven and five, that’s very rare. To have a chance to get to 11-5, keep that seeding – we want that seeding just for pride. We don’t care who we play, it’s more for pride. I’d probably have to beat some guys in the head with a stick to try and get them not to play anyway. I talked to them about it before and they said, ‘I’m playing.’ We’re going to practice and play like everything depends on it. It’s not going to be an easy game, either. I’ve been a part of both sides – that five and six seed are different. I don’t care what anybody says – they’re different – and 10-6, 11-5 are different. I’ve been 10-6 a bunch – been 10-6 and didn’t make the playoffs. Eleven and five is special. I think our guys are more than ready to go.” And go, they shall!

“Anything’s possible. Now that we’re in the dance, we’re going to see what next week brings and where we’re going.”

Following the monster win in Detroit, Bruce Arians had this to say about how he felt about the possibility of taking the top wildcard spot this year. “Anything can happen. I’ve been a six seed and gone all the way to the Super Bowl and won it right here in this stadium.” And that he did. In 2005 he was WRs coach for a Big Ben-led Pittsburgh Steeler team, who grinded their way into a sixth- seed in the wild card and ultimately defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl 21-10.

If history repeats itself, like it often does in the NFL, Arians may be on another team that goes from wild card to Super Bowl Champs and this could be the first time in NFL history that a home team will host a Super Bowl in their own stadium. Even if they don’t, we made the playoffs, and that’s good enough for me!

THE WAIT IS OVER!

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years after convincingly beating the Detroit Lions 47-7 in the Motor City on Saturday. It was a strong performance by the Bucs to get them their third straight win and gave them their first 10-win season in 10 years.

This game was never in doubt. From kickoff to kneel down, Tampa controlled every aspect of this contest. The Lions never had a chance in this one. They came into the game missing a bunch of key players due to injuries and half of their coaching staff due to COVID-19 protocols. It was over before it started…and the Bucs took advantage.

I’m not trying to take anything away from this Bucs win. That is what GOOD teams are supposed to do to BAD teams. Beat them. Badly. Humiliate them. Destroy them. Crush their spirit. That’s exactly what the Bucs did to the Lions. That’s exactly what they should’ve done to the Lions. As you can probably guess, there was plenty of “GOOD” about this game. Despite the score, there was some “BAD” in it as well. And as for the “UGLY“, well that was pretty obvious. So here’s what I came up with for the Bucs/Lions game.

 

THE GOOD

The Start

I’ve been talking about it for weeks now. It’s been the topic of conversations and the biggest issue haunting the Bucs since Week 7. The slow starts have been killing Tampa Bay. Since Week 8 against the Giants, the Buccaneers have been outscored 66-10 in the first quarter. It took Tom Brady just over 3 minutes and 6 plays to go 82 yards and score to take a 6-0 lead against the Lions. It was their first 1st quarter lead since Week 8 when they led 3-0 against the Giants. Brady had more passing yards on that first drive than he had in the entire first half last week against the Falcons. The defense then held the Lions to just 19 yards and 4 plays giving the ball right back to Brady. This time it only took the Bucs offense just over 2 minutes and 4 plays to go 80 yards and score again to take a 13-0 lead. Midway through the first quarter, Brady was 6 of 7 for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns. After two drives each in the first quarter, the Bucs had outgained the Lions 157-38 in total yards. Last week against Atlanta, the Bucs didn’t have a first half play over 14 yards. On the first two drives in the first quarter, they had plays of 33, 32, 47 and 27 yards.

Just over 3 minutes into the second quarter, the Bucs had a 20-0 lead and had outgained the Lions 243-42 in total yards. Brady was 12 of 14 for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns. And Leonard Fournette had 12 touches for 66 yards and a touchdown. By halftime, Tampa led 34-0 and had outgained Detroit 410-57 in total yards. Brady was now 22 of 27 for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns. He was done for the day and so were the Lions.

The Offense

Tampa Bay’s offense was ON FIRE in this game. Their 410 net total yards in the first half was the most yards scored in a half in team history AND the most by ANY team in the NFL since 2010. The 34 points in the first half is the highest scoring first half in team history and the second most points scored in ANY half in team history.

They finished this game with 588 net total yards, which is a new franchise record and they outgained the Lions by 402 net total yards (588-186), which is also a team record. They also set a new team high for first downs with 30 in this game, breaking a team record that stood since 1983. Even backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert got in on the action playing the entire second half and finishing 9 of 15 for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns AND the highest QB rating (131.4) of his ten year career.

As a team, the Bucs ran 70 plays for 588 total yards and possessed the ball for almost 36 minutes. They passed for 477 yards and 6 touchdowns, a new team record. They ran for 111 yards and a touchdown. They had 30 first downs, a new team record. Oh and they scored a season high 47 points. They now need just 11 points next week against the Falcons to become the highest scoring offense in team history, breaking the record set just last season with 458 points. Even with one game left, they already have as many TOTAL touchdowns (54) as they did all of last year. Except in 2019, the defense had six of those touchdowns versus just one touchdown this year. The offense has 53 this season, up from 48 last year, while drastically lowering their turnovers from 41 last year to just 16 this year.

Tom Brady

This was his 300th regular season game. At 43 years old, Brady now has 4,234 passing yards, the second most in a season in team history AND 36 touchdowns, the most in team history breaking the record of 33 set by Jameis Winston last year and the third most in his career. He’s on pace for 4,514 yards, which would be the 6th highest mark of his career AND 38 touchdowns, which would be the 3rd highest mark of his career.

In the first half of this game, Brady was 22 of 27 for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns. That’s the most passing yards in a half in Bucs history and the second most in a half in his career. He also finished with a perfect 158.3 passer rating for the third regular season game of his career (2007 & 2010), which ties him with Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner for the most ever for players with at least 20 attempts in a game. To add some perspective to that number, there’s ONLY 34 such games in NFL history.

This first half is just the second time since 1991 that a player has thrown for 340+ yards, 4+ touchdowns and no interceptions in a half. The other was Tom Brady in 2009 against the Titans. There’s been four times in NFL history that a QB was in his 40’s to start a season and thrown for 4,000+ yards: Tom Brady, 2017 (40), Tom Brady, 2018 (41), Tom Brady, 2019 (42) and Tom Brady, 2020 (43). Over his last four quarters (second half vs Falcons and first half vs Lions), Brady is 43 of 56 for 668 yards and 6 touchdowns. According to Elias Sports, he’s the first quarterback in the last 49 years to throw for more than 600+ yards over a four quarter span.

It also appears that he’s got his deep ball back. From Weeks 8-11, Brady was 0 for 19 with 3 interceptions on passes of 20+ yards. From Weeks 12-15, he was 9 for 15 with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception on passes of 20+ yards. In the first half against the Lions, he was 6 of 8 for 147 yards (the most yards on deep balls by any QB in a quarter in 2020) and 2 touchdowns. Since Week 11, Brady is 15 of 24 for 505 yards and 6 touchdowns on passes of 20+ yards. All of those lead the NFL in that span. So much for being “washed up“. The Bucs had 10 plays of 20+ yards in this game, ranking them second in the league with 60 plays of that length (Chiefs are 1st with 63) this season.

The Connection

Tom Brady hooked up with Rob Gronkowski for the Bucs first touchdown of the game. It was a 33 yard dime by Brady and a beautiful fingertip catch by Gronk. It was also the 96th time the two of them have connected for a score, the second most for ANY quarterback/receiver combination in NFL history behind Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. Gronk also caught the first touchdown of the second half from backup QB Blaine Gabbert giving him 17 multi-touchdown games for his career, the third most by a tight end in NFL history.

The Rookies

The Bucs rookies made some nice contributions in this game. Right tackle Tristan Wirfs continued his exceptional play, once again not allowing a sack. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr only had 4 tackles, but played well overall as usual. Wide receiver Tyler Johnson only had one catch, but it was a screen pass that he turned into a nice 35 yard gain. And running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn had his best game of the season with 15 carries for 62 yards and a 4.1 yards per carry average.

The Next Man Up

Tampa Bay came into this game missing two key players, one on each side of the ball. On offense, running back Ronald Jones missed his second game in a row on the COVID-19 list. And on defense, cornerback Carlton Davis missed the game with a groin injury. To fill those roles, the Bucs had Leonard Fournette start at running back and Sean Murphy-Bunting started at corner with Ross Cockrell filling in at nickel. Fournette finished this game with 12 touches for 66 yards and a touchdown while averaging 3.8 yards per carry. Murphy-Bunting and Cockrell finished with just 2 tackles each, but played well as part of a secondary that held the Lions to 113 passing yards on 31 attempts.

The Records

There were a few records set and/or broken in this game. Mike Evans tied AND broke his own record scoring his 12th and 13th touchdowns of the season. He had 6 catches for 120 yards in the first half alone and finished with 10 catches for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. He started the day 221 yards shy of his NFL record 7th consecutive 1,000 yard season. Now, he only needs 40 yards against Atlanta next Sunday to move past Randy Moss. He also added his name to a pretty elite list of only 7 players in NFL history with 8,000+ yards AND 60+ touchdowns in their first seven seasons. That list is: Sterling Sharpe, Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and now Mike Evans. Now tell me again how he’s NOT one of the best receivers in football again?

With his 348 yards and 4 touchdowns first half, Tom Brady now has 4,234 yards and 36 touchdowns with just 11 interceptions. That is the second most passing yards in a season EVER by a Buccaneers quarterback. His 36 touchdowns is now the most EVER by a Buccaneers quarterback, breaking Jameis Winston’s franchise record of 33 set just last year.

The Bucs now have the top two receivers with the most touchdowns since 2014:

Antonio Brown- 61

Mike Evans- 59

Deandre Hopkins- 58

Davante Adams- 58

Odell Beckham Jr.- 51

The Buccaneers are also the ONLY team in the NFL with three or more wins by 25+ points this season, which is the most in team history for one season.

 

THE BAD

The Special Teams

If there was a weak link in the Bucs chain on Saturday, it was definitely the special teams. Ryan Succop uncharacteristically missed a field goal AND two extra points. The punt coverage team allowed the Lions ONLY points of the game when Jamal Agnew returned a Bradley Pinion punt 74 yards for a touchdown, Detroit’s first punt return TD in a year. And Kenjon Barner had a terrible day returning kicks averaging just 4 yards on five punt returns.

Donovan Smith

After missing last week’s game due to COVID-19 protocols, left tackle Donovan Smith was back in the starting lineup and did not play well. Not only did he allow one of Detroit’s two sacks of the day, but he was also flagged for two penalties in the game.

The Penalties

Speaking of penalties, the Bucs had a bunch of them in this game. They committed 8 penalties for 65 yards against the Lions, matching their highest total since Week 6 (Week 12 vs Chiefs- 8).

 

THE UGLY

The Misses

It was difficult to find anything “UGLY” about this game, so this may be a bit of nitpicking on my part. But I chose Ryan Succop’s three misses as the ugliest part of this game because it was so rare to see from him this season. Coming into this game, he had only missed five kicks all season (2 fg’s, 3 xp’s). Against the Lions, he missed a field goal and two extra points kicking on turf and inside a some with no weather conditions. He is now 25 of 28 on field goals (89.3%) and 47 of 52 on extra points (90.4%) for the year. Let’s just hope that it was a fluke game and not something that continues into the postseason.

 

THE PLAYOFF PICTURE

After their win in Detroit, the Bucs are now 10-5 and sitting in the fifth seed for the playoffs. The Bucs playoff position is pretty clear. Who they’re playing is not. Beat the Falcons next week and they’ll stay there and face the “winner” of the NFC East division. The Redskins and Cowboys are both 6-9, which leads the division, but the Giants are just a game behind at 5-8. Here’s where it gets complicated. The Redskins are playing at the Eagles next week, while the Cowboys travel to play the Giants. There could potentially be a tie between the three with 6-10 records to which they would start going to tie breakers. If I had to bet, I’d say the Bucs are headed to Dallas for the wildcard round.

If they lose to Atlanta, they could still remain in that fifth seed IF the Rams lose to the Cardinals too. If they lose and the Rams win, the Bucs will be the sixth seed and would face whoever ends up as the third seed. That’s still up for grabs as well between the Packers at 12-3 and the Saints and Seahawks at 11-4. The Packers play at Chicago. The Saints travel to Carolina. And the Seahawks are at San Francisco. I’m not sure how the tie breakers would work out IF they all finish tied at 12-4, but it will make for a suspenseful football Sunday for Bucs fans. Either way, the Bucs will be on the road for the wildcard round. But that might not necessarily be a bad thing since they’re 6-2 on the road this season, matching the 2002 and 2010 teams for the best road record in team history.

 

THE CONCLUSION

I’m happy that the Bucs beat the Lions so convincingly, but I’m also trying to temper my expectations about it as well. That was NOT a good Lions team to begin with and they were missing half of their coaching staff AND their two best offensive players plus they lost Matthew Stafford during the game. The 47-7 score is what I would EXPECT a good team like the Bucs to do to a bad team like the Lions. Sure I know it’s “any given Sunday” in the NFL, but really good teams don’t lose to bad teams, even on “any given Sunday“. The Buccaneers went into Detroit and took care of business. It’s that simple.

Now the question is, can they come home and take care of business against Atlanta? The Falcons are now 4-11 after losing to the Chiefs on Sunday. Even though they’re in the playoffs, that doesn’t mean that this game is meaningless. It means a lot. This game could be the difference between going to Washington to play the 6-9 Redskins OR going to Seattle to play the 12-3 Seahawks.

Which would you rather?

The Bucs treated the Lions game like it was a business trip to Detroit. And they need to do the same thing next week too. They need to treat this Falcon’s game like it’s the first round of their playoffs. I still have concerns about the inconsistency of this football team. We’ll just have to wait and see which team shows up at Raymond James…the team that beat up the undefeated Packers 38-10 OR the team that got wrecked 38-3 by the Saints.

Until then, as always…GO BUCS!!!

It’s one thing to make it into the playoffs. It’s another thing to be a playoff team.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an opportunity to clinch their first playoff berth since 2007 today against the Detroit Lions. If they win, they’re in. It’s as simple as that. After beating the Falcons last week, the New York Times playoff simulator has the Bucs with a 98% chance of making it in. A win today and it’s a certainty. It would end a 12 year drought, the second longest in the NFL.

The question is, what will they do once they’re in?

The Bucs have only made the playoffs twice since winning their Super Bowl in 2003 (2005 & 2007) and they lost in the wildcard round BOTH times to NFC East teams (Giants & Redskins). In fact, four of the last five times they’ve made the playoffs, they lost in the wildcard round to NFC East teams (2000 & 2001 to the Eagles). If the Bucs finish in the sixth seed, where they currently are now, they will play the winner of the NFC East (either the Giants or Redskins) in the wildcard round once again.

So, again I ask, what will this Bucs team do once they’re in?

Today’s game could give us a little insight. With only two games remaining in the regular season, this team needs to start clicking on all cylinders, on BOTH sides of the ball, to have a chance in the postseason. It’s not enough to string a few wins together at the end of the year. Momentum is good to have, but they also need to be playing consistently good football as well. And that’s something they haven’t been able to do all year.

The slow starts have been a real issue. The offense hasn’t been able to move the ball OR score in the first half. And the defense hasn’t been able to stop teams from moving the ball OR scoring in the first half. It has not been a good combination. Since Week 8 against the Giants, the Bucs have been outscored 66-10 in the first quarter. They can’t let that happen in the playoffs. They can’t dig themselves into holes against playoff caliber teams. They can’t count on Tom Brady to come from behind every week. Getting off to a fast start today could show us this team came to play. A good first quarter today could show us this team is taking a step in the right direction at the right time. Today’s game could tell us if they’re in the playoffs. A convincing win today could tell us if they’re a playoff team. We’ll see what happens at 1pm today!

Until then, as always…GO BUCS!!!

 

ANOTHER WIN CLOSER TO THE BIG DANCE!

It’s become a weekly thing for Tampa Bay fans, but the Buccaneers were able to overcome one of their ugliest first halves of the season and come back from a 17-0 halftime deficit and beat the division rival Falcons 31-27 in Atlanta on Sunday.

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for Bucs fans this season, both during games AND week to week. This team’s inconsistency has consistently been on my “BAD” list throughout the season and they haven’t been able to put together 60 minutes of good football all year. The closest they’ve come was against the Packers and we all saw what can happen when they do play up to their potential.

This game, like most of them this season, started off slow for the Bucs before they FINALLY decided to play football in the second half. As usual, there was some “GOOD“, some “BAD” and an easy pick for my “UGLY” in this game. So here’s what I came up with this week.

 

THE GOOD

Mike Evans

With all the offensive talent on this roster, I’m not surprised that Mike Evans hasn’t been quite as productive as he has been in the past. The Bucs currently have four players (Evans, Godwin, Gronkowski and Miller) with over 475 yards receiving with Evans as the leader at 779 yards. After finishing this game against the Falcons with 6 catches for 110 yards, Evans is now just 221 yards shy of his NFL record seventh straight 1,000 yard season to start his career. Luckily for him, the Bucs face the Detroit Lions on Saturday who possess the 27th ranked passing defense in the league and then the Falcons again in Week 17 who are ranked 30th in that category.

Jamel Dean

After missing three weeks and two games with a concussion, Jamel Dean was back into the lineup against the Falcons and played pretty well. He finished with 6 tackles and made a couple of really BIG plays in the second half to give the defense a boost.

Devin White

The leader of the Buccaneers defense continued his campaign for Defensive Player of the Year against the Falcons finishing with a team leading 12 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. All three of those sacks came in the second half and it gives him 8 sacks for the season. The Bucs are close to having three players on this defense with 10+ sacks for the first time in team history (Pierre-Paul- 10.5, Barrett- 8, White- 8). The last time it was done by ANY team in the NFL was back in 2014 by the Buffalo Bills. The Bucs have had two players with 10+ sacks in a season just twice. There’s only six players in the entire NFL who have 50+ tackles AND 8+ sacks this season and three of them are Buccaneers. Jason Pierre-Paul has 50 tackles and 10.5 sacks. Shaq Barrett has 54 tackles and 8 sacks. And Devin White has 130 tackles and 8 sacks. White is also the ONLY player in the NFL since 2000 to have multiple games of 10+ tackles AND 3+ sacks. This just in…he’s pretty good.

The Offensive Line

You might not have realized it during the game, but the Bucs o-line had a pretty solid showing on Sunday. They didn’t run the ball very often since they got down early, but when they did run it, they ran it effectively. And when they needed to run it, they ran it well. According to Pro Football Focus, they had the highest COMBINED run block grade in the league. They were just as productive in pass protection. In fact, guards Ali Marpet and Alex Cappa were the 2nd and 5th highest graded guards for Week 15. Rookie right tackle Tristan Wirfs continued his exceptional play allowing ZERO pressures (second week in a row) on 48 pass block snaps. He is just one of three right tackles in the entire league to have at least a 75 grade in BOTH run blocking AND pass blocking.

Ryan Succop

In case you haven’t noticed, the Buccaneers don’t have a kicking problem this year for the first time in about a decade. Ryan Succop is quietly having one of the most successful kicking seasons in team history. He’s on pace to break Matt Bryant’s team record of 131 points in a season AND he’s 25 of 27 in field goals (92.6%) just behind Connor Barth’s team record of 92.9% back in the 2011 season.

The Third Quarter

The first half of this game may have been one of the ugliest of the season, but the Bucs third quarter was a thing of beauty. After being shutout in the first half on the road for the first time since 2017 and the second time this season (didn’t happen at all in 2018 or 2019), the Bucs scored 21 points in the third quarter. That matches to most by ANY team in the third quarter of ANY game this season (Seahawks had 21 points against the Vikings in October). It also matches the franchise record for most points in a third quarter (against the Lions in 1993 and the Raiders in 2012). The 31 points they scored in the second half was the most by ANY team in ANY half of ANY game this entire season.

The Comeback Win

The Bucs have had nine games in their franchise history where they’ve trailed by 17+ points and come back to win the game, but this game against the Falcons was the latest (until 3:44 left in the third) that they’ve trailed by that much and STILL rallied to win. In fact, the last time they trailed by that much, that late and still won, was way back in 1982 against the Bears.

So how’d they do it, you ask? Well to put it bluntly, they simply got their heads out of their asses. They were down 17-0 at halftime. They had been outgained 261-60 in total yards. The defense couldn’t get off the field giving up seven third and fourth down conversions. The Bucs didn’t have a play longer than 14 yards in that first half while the Falcons had eight plays of 14+ yards. In that second half, the Bucs had 12 plays of 13+ yards while the Falcons had just three plays of that length. After totaling just 60 yards of offense in the first half, the Bucs had scoring drives of 80 yards, 75 yards, 76 yards, 42 yards and 78 yards in the second half.

As bad as Tom Brady was in the first half, he more than made up for it in the second. He went 21 of 29 for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns after halftime. It’s the third most in a half in franchise history AND the most by ANY quarterback in the second half of ANY game this season. This was the 39th fourth quarter comeback of Brady’s career and his third this season. He’s second all time in that category behind Peyton Manning (43).

The Penalties

The Buccaneers have really cleaned up their act when it comes to penalties over the last 8 games or so. Since Week 6, the Bucs have committed five or fewer penalties in all but one game (8 in Week 12 vs Chiefs). Against the Falcons on Sunday, they were flagged just one time and it was for a block in the back on special teams. If they can continue to limit the penalties and turnovers, it will really help them in the postseason.

 

THE BAD

Same Start, Different Game

The Bucs biggest issue this season has been getting off to slow starts in games. Sometimes, like against the Falcons, it takes an entire half for them to get going. But the real problem has been in the first quarter, where the Bucs were ranked 30th in points scored and 32nd in points allowed. This game didn’t help those numbers. Coming into this game, the Bucs had been outscored 52-7 in the first quarter in the last 5 games. It wasn’t just the first quarter in this one though. For the second time this season, the Bucs were shutout in the first half. That hadn’t happened at all over the last two seasons. This team will likely make the playoffs, but if they want to make any noise when they do get there they’ll need to get off to much better starts.

Sean Murphy-Bunting

I’m a fan of this kid and I know the Bucs are too, but he has not been playing good football this season. At 6′ tall with 32″ arms, he has the prototypical size and length. With 4.42 speed and a 42″ vertical, he has the athleticism. He’s got the talent. He’s got the football IQ. And he’s one of the more versatile players on this Bucs defense with his ability to play inside and outside. So why is it that he’s been the weakest link in their secondary this season?

According to Pro Football Focus, SMB has allowed 57 catches out of 70 targets for 739 yards and 6 touchdowns this season. That’s an 81.4% completion percentage and 13 yards per catch while having just one pass break up, one interception and 11 missed tackles. On Sunday, he allowed 7 catches on 8 targets for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns. I like the kid and I think that eventually he’ll be a valuable piece of this young Bucs secondary. But it might be time to sit him down and let the veteran Ross Cockrell play instead. At least until SMB can get his head right.

The Calvin Ridley Coverage

Despite the Falcons missing Julio Jones, the Bucs could not figure out how to cover Calvin Ridley in the first half of this game. He finished with 10 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. The Bucs were playing a lot of off coverage and soft zone in the first half and Ridley took advantage of it. Luckily, the Bucs played more man coverage in the second half and limited his catches after halftime.

The First Half Defense…Again

There’s no excuse for why this defense plays the way it does early on in games. None. They don’t have the same excuse as the offense. This is not their first year in the scheme. This is not their first year playing together. This is their second year under Todd Bowles and this defense should be humming like a well oiled machine at this point. Instead, they gave up 17 points and 260 yards of offense by halftime, letting the Falcons offense do pretty much whatever they wanted. Even Bruce Arians said in his Monday press conference that the defense needs to get themselves figured out and start playing better football in the first half of games. That’s evident by them being ranked 32nd in points allowed in the first quarter.

The Inconsistency…Again

I’m getting tired of writing about it, but it continues to be one of this team’s biggest problems. The ONLY game that they’ve put together 60 minutes of good football was in Week 6 when they destroyed the then undefeated Packers 38-10 at Raymond James. It was the most complete game that this team has played all season. It was also the game where they had ZERO turnovers, ZERO penalties and gave up ZERO sacks.

This game was a tale of two halves. The first half was about as ugly as we’ve seen this Tom Brady led Bucs team play this year, both on offense AND defense. Then the second half might have been one of their best halves of the season, especially on offense. Just think about what this team could do IF they could just put all four quarters together for a change. They’ve already given us a glimpse against Green Bay…but they could be even better. After the Falcons game, Bruce Arians asked the team “If you can play like that for 30 minutes, then why can’t you play like that for 60 minutes?“. It’s a fair question. And I’d like an answer to it before the playoffs start in a few weeks.

 

THE UGLY

The First Half

Do I even have to rehash it. The offense had 60 total yards and the defense allowed 260 total yards resulting in a 17-0 halftime score. It was one of the uglier halves this team has played all season. Lucky for us, they bounced back and won this game.

THE PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Bucs are now 9-5 and have just their third winning season since 2007, which was the last time they made the playoffs. According to the New York Times NFL Playoff Simulator, Tampa Bay now has a 98% chance of making the playoffs. They’re sitting solidly in the sixth spot and the only teams that could potentially knock them out of that spot are the Cardinals and Bears. A Bucs win on Saturday OR a Bears loss on Sunday and they’re in.

At this point, the Bucs control their own postseason destiny. Win these last two games and they earn the fifth seed and will face the NFC West champ, either the Seahawks or Rams. If they stay in the sixth seed, they’ll play the NFC East champ, which will either be the Giants or the Redskins (I refuse to call them the other name). Win out AND have the Saints lose their final two games against the Vikings and Panthers, then the Bucs win the NFC South and a top three seed. Lose these last two games to finish 9-7 and they’re likely still in the dance. However, there is a scenario where they could be in a four way tie with the Rams, Cardinals and Bears in which case, the Bucs would lose on tie breakers and be out of the playoffs.

Got it? Good.

This team will probably make the playoffs. They have a 98% chance as of right now and I don’t see them losing either one of their last two games. That being said, I’m not convinced that they can win when they do get into the playoffs. This slow start thing is going to come back and bite them in the postseason. If they can actually start playing good football for 60 minutes, then they can beat anybody. But if they continue to dig themselves into halftime holes like they have been, even the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady won’t be able to keep bailing them out against playoff caliber teams.

 

THE CONCLUSION

The Bucs went into Atlanta and got a win. We should be ecstatic about that. Even if the Falcons have struggled this season and were playing without Julio Jones. The Bucs are 9-5 and will finish 2020 with a winning record. We should be happy about that. Even if we did have higher expectations for this team than just finishing with a winning record. The Bucs will probably be in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. We should be thrilled about that. Even if they’re not playing like a playoff team right now.

This team still has two games left to get things going in the right direction. Win those games convincingly, then we can start talking about doing some damage in the playoffs. Struggle with those games, and the doubts whether they belong in the postseason will be lingering. The second half of this Falcon’s game showed us how dangerous this team could be when it’s clicking on all cylinders. The question is, can they continue the momentum into the next game? We’ll see on Saturday when they go to Detroit to play the Lions.

Until then, as always…GO BUCS!!!

Take a moment. As you read this, children across America, and the world, are preparing for Christmas. Many of these children come from impoverished backgrounds; Christmas for them looks very different than it might for you or I.

Each year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers contribute to the local community through charity initiatives to bring some cheer to those in our community that really need a reason to smile. This year is no different.

Right now, the Buccaneers defensive line players, including Vita Vea, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, as well as other players, coaches, cheerleaders, and Captain Fear, are changing this Christmas for 65 local underprivileged children.

The annual “D-Line Delivers” is taking place today, Monday December 21st. Frankly, it has come just in time for some families. Nobody can deny this has been a trying year for so many, both financially and mentally. Buccaneers fans should be feeling some pride in their team, as charitable events like these can mean the greatest difference to children who admire the players as hero’s.

While in a perfect Utopia it would be possible to help everyone in need. Sadly, that is just not possible. Hopefully, acts of kindness provide inspiration to us all to extend that holiday tradition of goodwill and giving, and maybe we can all make a difference, however small, to somebody that needs it this Christmas.

One thing is for certain, the D-Line are certainly delivering a Christmas that these young fans will remember forever.

From everyone here at Bucs Life Media, we wish you all a very merry Christmas.