The Minnesota Vikings are coming into town to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 3 of the 2026 NFL season, and while the two teams are polar opposites in the standings with the Vikes battling back from an early Week 1 deficit against the rival Green Bay Packers to boast two high quality division rivalry wins at 2-0, this is honestly one of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend on paper.
Because while the Buccaneers are 0-2 and coming off a particularly embarrassing loss to the lowly Cleveland Browns and disgraced quarterback Deshaun Watson, they are clearly a better team than what they have shown. So many of the Bucs best players have underperformed badly to start the season like Vita Vea, Antoine Winfield Jr., Alex Anzalone, and even promising rookie edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. on the defensive side.
But no player has disappointed more than quarterback Baker Mayfield, and for as deeply disappointing as the others have been on defense, with the way his skill position players have performed, there is no question that Mayfield has been the one to cost the Bucs the most. His turnovers against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 were impossible for his teammates to overcome, while he regularly missed open receivers and couldn't even move the ball against a pathetic Browns team that Liam Coen and Trevor Lawrence had torn apart just a week prior.
Who is to blame for Tampa Bay Buccaneers' dreadful start?
For as dreadful as Baker Mayfield was, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have seen him play at an MVP level before, including exactly a year ago. Meanwhile, head coach Todd Bowles is just as under fire, because he is responsible for this whole team, and Bucs fans have been going back and forth on who to blame more, especially since he has at least five good players on defense performing at a career worst level through two weeks.
Bowles has been a specialist in failure as the Buccaneers head coach for years, blowing easy Super Bowl bids and being at the helm for Tom Brady's only ever losing season, driving the literal GOAT of this sport to retirement.
It sounds wild that an entire debate between a chronically underperforming, turnover prone quarterback and a laughably inept head coach could come down to one game, but the Minnesota Vikings has a chance to be a telling test for the Bucs. Because if Mayfield plays well and the Bucs still lose, it's 100 percent on Bowles. But if the defense contains Kyler Murray and Mayfield can't outduel another polarizing quarterback, then Mayfield's contract is going to look like a real albatross.
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