This season has been defined by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defying the odds, something we got a taste of even before Monday's game against the Lions kicked off.
It wasn't a last-minute win or a lucky break that went the Bucs' way, rather one of the more miraculous turnarounds we've seen a player make. Emeka Egbuka left last Sunday's win over the 49ers with a hamstring injury, one that Adam Schefter reported would cause him to "miss some time". Turns out that wouldn't be more than a few days.
Egbuka went from likely to miss a few games to, questionable, to a game-time decision, to active and available to play, all in the span of a week. Never count the Bucs out, in any way, is the lesson to be learned here.
It's not the only lesson, though. While Egbuka being able to play is great, it comes with considerable risk that could end up costing the Bucs when they can least afford it.
Buccaneers are taking a big risk by not resting Emeka Egbuka after his injury
Greg Auman said it best when Egbuka's initial diagnosis looked worse than it turned out to be. Players don't typically leave a game with a hamstring injury and not miss a few weeks as a result. We saw that most recently with Mike Evans, who suffered a similar "low grade" hamstring injury that has caused him to be out since Week 3.
Evans is returning on Monday night as well, but he's had three weeks to rest; Egbuka had a long week to recover, but it's only been seven days.
For all the praise that's been heaped on the Bucs high-powered offense, Baker Mayfield hasn't played a single snap this season where Egbuka, Evans, Chris Godwin, and Bucky Irving are all on the same field together. The day will come when that happens, likely in the playoffs, but the Bucs are risking throwing that timeline off by putting Egbuka on the field so soon after his injury
I'm not a medical expert, nor have I examined the MRI that Egbuka underwent, but I have seen the number of hamstring injuries suffered by Buccaneers players this season and the number isn't small. If he's been cleared to play then that's worth accepting, but so too is the inherent risk that he could further injure himself and miss time when Tampa Bay can least afford to be without him.
There's no real timeline for Godwin or Irving's return, and losing Egbuka now would mean the offense being down three key players during one of the toughest stretches of the schedule.
Week | Opponent | Record |
|---|---|---|
8 | at New Orleans | 1-6 |
9 | BYE WEEK | |
10 | vs. New England | 5-2 |
11 | at Buffalo | 4-2 |
12 | at LA Rams | 5-2 |
Saints game aside, that's a gnarly gauntlet of Super Bowl contenders the Bucs will need to be at their best to beat.
Not to dog New Orleans too much -- who are we kidding, screw 'em -- but the argument could be made that the Bucs have a soft bye week before their actual bye in Week 9. Had he sat tonight, that would have given Egbuka three weeks to get healthy and potentially rejoin an offense that has every key weapon healthy for one of the hardest stretches of the season.
That being said, the two-week gap between tough games gives the Bucs a little cushion if Egbuka tweaks his hamstring against Detroit and needs to rest.
It all feels like threading a needle that doesn't need to be threaded. Don't get it twisted, having Egbuka back is huge and the game against Detroit borders on must-win territory given how tight things are at the top of the NFC standings right now.
This season has been all about subverting expectations, so let's hope that happens again and Egbuka coming back as soon as he did doesn't turn into a curse the Bucs have to deal with longer than they might have needed to.