Tough pill for the Buccaneers to swallow on defense after brutal loss
By Rob Leeds
The Buccaneers no longer have a claim to the best defense in the NFL. The Chiefs made short work of what looked like one of the best units in the NFL in a win last night.
Last night was not that pretty for the Buccaneers. The final score may not show it, but that game was a beat down from the start, and it never really felt like the Bucs were in a position to challenge Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs for the lead.
A couple of bad fumbles early definitely played a role, but the far more striking story was how the Bucs only made the Chiefs punt once in the game. Every other full drive by Mahomes and company ended in points.
The Chiefs offense is good, but that is completely unacceptable for a defensive unit that had been the best in the league up until that point.
The painful truth of the matter is that the Buccaneers defense had been overinflated by three opponents that missed the mark offensively before the Chiefs. Dak Prescott played the worst game of his career in Week 1, Jameis Winston was Jameis Winston in Week 2, and Aaron Rodgers was clearly missing talent at the wide receiver position in Week 3.
The stats sure looked good, but there were some issues with the defense that most people missed or ignored heading into a game against the best quarterback in football and one of the best offensive minds.
Tampa couldn’t stop the run or the pass to save their lives. The Chiefs were able to do everything they wanted from the opening whistle, and that doesn’t happen to a team with the best defense in football.
The Buccaneers are an offensive team above all else; it doesn’t matter what Todd Bowles wants. Trying to make the team identity around the defense in this modern game was always going to be a mistake, and the Bucs need to find a way to get back to their offensive roots if they want the rest of this season to be different.
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