5 changes Buccaneers still need to make to get season back on track
Snapping the losing streak is one thing, but continuing the turnaround is another.
By Ryan Heckman
After the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their four-game losing streak, fans could breath a sigh of relief. Week 10 was the absolute best-case scenario for Tampa Bay, after all.
The rest of the division took losses while the Bucs won, with the Saints also seeing quarterback Derek Carr go down to injury. Not that we're relishing in any injury, but depending on how severe, that could impact the division as well.
The NFC South is still anyone's game, unless you're the Panthers. But, the Bucs have plenty of reason to hope for a division title. In order to bring home the division though, and continue the turnaround, Tampa Bay has to make some changes.
Fortunately, they're relatively easy changes to make.
1. Play to their offensive strength
Look, we're over halfway into this season and it is abundantly clear that the Bucs cannot run the football. Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield is playing pretty good football. It also sounds like we can ignore his minor thumb issue after Week 10. He's completing 64 percent of his passes, has thrown 14 touchdowns to just five picks and is no where near the reason this team is losing football games.
It's pretty simple. Throw the football more. Run less. And, when the Bucs do run, they have got to stop running it up the middle. I understand keeping the defense honest, but these dive plays will result in a Bucs running back hitting the behinds of his own offensive linemen nine times out of 10.
Get the ball downfield more, continue to allow Mayfield to cut it loose and see what you can do, even further, in the passing game.