Buccaneers: 5 things that went wrong in 2018
By Ryan Doyle
FitzMagic and the Winston suspension
The Buccaneers entered the 2018 season with backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm as Jameis Winston served his three-game suspension.
Surprisingly, Fitzpatrick was phenomenal. He tore apart the Eagles, Saints and Steelers defenses. Tampa Bay sat atop the league in passing stats and scoring. Then, in Winston’s first game back, the bruising Chicago Bears defense dominated the Bucs.
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Winston would regain his starting spot, and an unnecessary quarterback controversy began. Fitzpatrick played exceptionally well in his stint to start the year, but handing over the starting role again in Week 9, was a mistake.
Fitzpatrick would return to what he has been for his entire career, a mediocre quarterback. Winston may have performed just as poorly, but at least the front office could determine whether or not he still deserved his whopping $20 million extension sooner.
The back-and-forth between both quarterbacks was a mistake looking back. Tampa Bay should have given Winston the reigns and let him try and carry the Bucs to the playoffs, or fail.
Instead, head coach Dirk Koetter had to get desperate with his job on the line and turn to the veteran who he thought might have had some more magic left in his arm.