Biggest lesson learned from Buccaneers matchup with Chiefs
By John Paul
While it may have seemed to Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans that there were not many positives to come out of their game against the Kansas City Chiefs in week four, that would be very incorrect.
Sometimes, it takes playing a great team like the Chiefs to really test a team and show where all the cracks in the armor are. In this case, there are major cracks in the Bucs’ armor that were exploited to the highest degree last Sunday by the talent of Patrick Mahomes and mind of Andy Reid.
The foremost issue was the defense. For all the talk of how great the Bucs defense was so far this year by all the talking heads in the media, the Bucs had yet to play any team with a real offense, so it was incredibly foolish to place them on that pedestal without the team ever being tested.
And, as expected for anyone who has watched every Buccaneers game this year, when the team finally played a great offense (probably the best in the league), they were completely exposed. Mahomes made passes with ease and put his team in the end zone drive after drive.
Additionally, the much-fawned over Bucs rushing defense allowed over180 total rushing yards between the Chiefs running backs and Patrick Mahomes.
While the defensive secondary’s performance was egregious, it has also been consistently bad the last few years, so that was to be expected. However, the amount of rushing yards and time Mahomes was given to throw the ball all game is completely unacceptable.
A defense has to at least take away some part of their opponent’s game, and the Bucs failed to stop any aspect of the Chiefs’.
But Bucs fans should be grateful, especially considering how early in the season this game came. The Chiefs showed that the Bucs they have to dramatically improve their defense if they want to make a run at another Super Bowl. It was a tough lesson for the Bucs to have to learn at home, but it is likely for the best.
On the bright side, the offense finally looked good again, which should make Bucs fans feel good about their chances when/if they can get the defense back on track.
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