Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Pewter Plank Madden franchise part 2

Started last week, here is the second part of the Madden 20 franchise run by The Pewter Plank controlling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

For those who have not yet seen, The Pewter Plank is embarking on a franchise in Madden 20 for the Buccaneers. If you want to know how the season is being run or are confused by the new players on the roster, look back to last week’s post here to see how this will work.

The Buccaneers jumped out to a quick start in the 2019 season with Lamar Jackson at the helm. Chris Godwin and Ronald Jones flourished in the lead roles, and the Bucs won their first three games.

Jackson averaged 100 yards rushing for two of the first three games, Devin White amassed four picks, and the defense stood firm. Tampa Bay under coach Leeds was 3-0 going into week four against the L.A. Rams.

More from The Pewter Plank

• Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
• ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
• Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
• Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
• The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023

Tragedy struck on the second play of the fourth game as Lamar Jackson was sacked awkwardly and tore his shoulder. Subscribing to the “next man up mentality,” P.J. Walker answered the call and led the Bucs to within a score with two minutes left.

Walker’s accuracy proved to be a problem, but Ronald Jones was the workhorse and was up to nearly 200 all-purpose yards by this point in the game.

Not-long into the two-minute drill for the Bucs, RoJo was flattened by Aaron Donald, and he too left the game with an injury. Unfortunately, replacements Jacques Patrick and Walker were unable to save the game, and Tampa Bay moved to 3-1.

Jackson was slated to be out for five weeks, and Jones was out for seven. The hopes for a playoff run by the Buccaneers were almost entirely in the hands of two backups.

Week five was a bloodbath. Cameron Jordan sacked Walker 5 times, and the Bucs were crushed by three scores. 3-2.

In week six, the defense accounted for two total touchdowns in the victory against the Panthers, and the offense showed some improvement. After six games, Devin White led the league with six interceptions and also had three sacks. Jamal Adams was also flourishing at linebacker, and he had four forced fumbles over the same duration. 4-2.

Tampa Bay was able to lean on safe offensive play calling and stellar defensive play to split the final two games without Lamar Jackson. The Bucs completely shut down Derrick Henry in the win versus the Titans and lost the game in overtime in Seattle, just like in real life. 5-3.

Sitting at 5-3 after eight weeks for the Bucs is decent, especially considering that two of the most critical players on the team missed a significant part of the season. With Jackson back and RoJo not far behind him, the Buccaneers will now look towards maintaining a spot in the playoffs.

We’ll see you guys at the end of the regular season.