The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been through, well, a lot to start this season. The main problem the Buccaneers had to endure was the never-ending injury bug that kept hitting some of their starters. The likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Luke Goedke, and Calijah Kancey are just some of the players that have missed time or are currently sidelined. Despite these injuries, the Buccaneers still managed to win games, and are 6-2.
On Sunday, the Buccaneers had a relatively easy outing against the lowly rival New Orleans Saints, picking up a 23-3 win. It wasn't the greatest outing offensively, as they picked up just 212 yards on 56 plays.
Now, the Buccaneers heading into the bye week. Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles says it couldn't have arrived at a better time.
Todd Bowles says Buccaneers' bye week will be 'huge'
"It will be huge," said Bowles, h/t the Buccaneers' official website. "It's halfway through the season. We need it more than anybody. I credit those guys for fighting week-in and week-out, people stepping up and people moving to different positions and helping us win, which you have to do in order to be a good team. So we've done that the first half. We've got to rest up. It's going to be a hell of a second half so we've got to be ready for it."
As mentioned earlier, the Buccaneers have had to overcome so many injuries this early in the season. Yet, they still found ways to win games. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has played a huge role in those wins, as he helped lead the Buccaneers to game-winning drives in four of their first five games. Those arrived against teams the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, New York Jets, and Seattle Seahawks.
It truly is a testament to general manager Jason Licht to build as deep of a roster as they have. And credit to Bowles for being able to deploy these players in positions they don't normally play. Tez Johnson and Sterling Shepard stand out, as they have been thrusted into starter's positions due to the injuries to Evans, Godwin, and Jalen McMillan being injured, and they've thrived.
The Buccaneers will need the rest from the bye, because their stretch afterwards is particularly rough. Their first three games post-bye are against playoff contending teams in the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Los Angeles Rams in that order. After that, their schedule does get easier as they play the Saints and Falcons again, the Carolina Panthers twice, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Miami Dolphins.
A week of rest could not have come at a better time for the Buccaneers. Bowles knows that. After that, the hope is that the bye will do wonders for the team as they get healthier and continue their push for the playoffs.