The Buccaneers standings within one power ranking slipped after a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Daniel Jones and the New York Giants.
It was not a pretty second half performance for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they saw their 18 point halftime lead dwindle in a 32-31 loss to the New York Giants and their rookie quarterback Daniel Jones. As a result, the pewter and red saw their standings in NFL Spin Zone’s power rankings fall from the 21st spot back to the 25th spot.
There is no doubt that a win against the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams would help the Bucs boost that rating, but after losing to a rookie quarterback in his first career start, and without their best player in Saquon Barkley, they deserved to see their ranking fall this week.
The Buccaneers are now 0-2 at Raymond James Stadium, with their only win over the Carolina Panthers coming on the road. If the Buccaneers want to prove that they are serious contenders, they must find a way to win close games at home when the fan base is on their side.
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"“Head coach Bruce Arians was expecting a better start than this, as the quarterback whisperer believed he had his man in Jameis Winston. The former No. 1 overall pick has had his share of struggles during his tenure but wasn’t the reason they lost this game” (via Randy Gurzi at NFL Spin Zone)."
Gurzi is correct in saying that this loss does not fall onto the shoulders of Winston, but rather the conservative nature of the play calling in the second half that allowed the Giants to crawl back from the three score deficit. When your foot is on their neck, the Buccaneers must learn to keep the pressure on.
Matt Gay missing two extra points and a game winning kick also caused this game to slip away from the pewter and red, as those five points left off the board were absolutely the difference maker on Sunday against the Giants. While Gay has not been given the boot yet, his leash has gotten much shorter in Tampa as kickers do not have long leashes as they come.
As the Bucs look forward to their match up against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, they will be looking to get back to .500. Will next week’s power rankings have the pewter and red on the rise, or will they continue to slip?