Loser: Red Zone Offense
For as good as things went on Sunday, not everything was perfect. The offense continues to struggle in the redzone, something that shouldn't cause too much alarm this early in the season but is something to keep an eye on moving forward.
One of the biggest things that held the Bucs back last season was the offense's inability to capitalize on momentum once it entered the redzone. It felt like no matter how much a drive might have started to groove, the Bucs ran into a brick wall inside of the 20 and were horrifically ineffective. Last year Tampa Bay ranked 25th in the league in redzone scoring, managing to come away with points 50.94 percent of the time.
It wasn't that the Bucs couldn't score in the redzone, it was that they were constantly forced to settle for field goals and leave points on the field by failing to get into the endzone. Fans had PTSD flashbacks a few different times in Week 2, as otherwise fantastic drives by Baker Mayfield were sold short.
Right out of the gate, the Bucs marched down the field on a 12-play, 67-yard drive that featured some of the same gutsiness we saw out of the team in last week's win but ended in a field goal. On the very next offensive drive, the Bucs went 53 yards on 11 plays including a great 24-yard connection to Chris Godwin but were forced to attempt a field goal once again -- one that ended up being blocked.
On back-to-back drives the Bucs made it to the Bears 8-yard line and the Bears 17-yard line but failed to score a touchdown. The upshot is that the third time Tampa Bay knocked on Chicago's door they scored a touchdown, but those first two drives were painful reminders of how much further the offense needs to go.
Tampa Bay can't afford to have those sorts of stunted drives against good teams, like the Eagles next week, and expect to stay close like they did on Sunday.