The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have entered the thick of their season and now, the team is without key offensive weapons moving forward. Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are both out for the foreseeable future and Bucs fans will have to get ready for a new look offense.
They’ll go up against an Atlanta Falcons team they just traveled to see on Thursday night but only three weeks ago. It was a hard fought, overtime battle, but the Falcons ultimately won the game with a long OT touchdown reception.
We should expect a nice workload from a now healthy Rachaad White as Bucky Irving’s status is uncertain for Sunday, but the offense will still rely on Baker Mayfield and the team’s passing attack. We will see what new starters Jalen McMillan, Sterling Shepard and Trey Palmer have to bring to the table. It will be up to Liam Coen to implement a game plan that puts his inexperienced guys in positions to succeed.
For Todd Bowles and this defense, we have to see a change of fortune, as this Falcons team that is coming in recently broke their franchise record for passing yards in a game against the Bucs back in week five. While also coming off a game like the Ravens on Monday Night, this defense should be playing with a fire and ready to go.
So what are a few questions this Tampa Bay team can answer about themselves in this huge divisional matchup? Let’s see.
Are These New Bucs Targets Ready For Their New Role?
For the upcoming Tampa Bay receivers, they’ll be asked to do a lot moving forward. For veteran Sterling Shepard, his goal is to do whatever he can to help the young guys improve and the team win. His experience will prove to be a huge plus for this receiving room moving forward as Godwin and Evans are absent.
Shepard’s impact will be huge on both Trey Palmer and rookie Jalen McMillan, who have both played well in their time on the field in 2024. But this opportunity to see an increase in targets and snap count will be an enormous boost to the development of both Palmer and McMillan, and the team seems confident in their abilities immediately.
There’s no replacing a duo as dominant as Godwin or Evans, but with a tweak to the offensive philosophy, Baker Mayfield should still be able to see success. Implementing his tight ends and running backs will surely be a part of the plan. It’ll be interesting to see how much impact these guys have in their first game as starters in this offense!
Is This Defense Really Who We Think They Are?
Buccaneers’ fans have seen and understood the type of defense this same Todd Bowles’ defense is capable of being. The performance against Baltimore isn’t completely alarming, giving up 500 yards to last year’s MVP and the newly formed Ravens’ offense is okay. But it’s the consistency of these outbreaking performances from opposing offenses that starts to make fans question what is going on.
With stars like Vita Vea, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Lavonte David at full health, there is more expected of this defense and they will be heavily relied on moving forward. Starting this week against these Falcons.
Kirk Cousins passing the way he did in week five cannot be an option. The focus will have to be on stopping Drake London, Kyle Pitts and the rest of these Atlanta weapons that burnt them in their last match up. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier should be the ones that will have to beat this Tampa Bay defense. Todd Bowles has quite the task on his hands for this Buccaneers throwback classic.
Is Liam Coen As Crafty As We Believe?
Tampa Bay’s new offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been given high praise by fans so far in 2024, and rightfully so. This offense ranks among the league's best and it’s been refreshing to see such a traditional, yet crafty offense be displayed in Coen’s play calling.
But Mike Evans, who will be out until at least week eleven, had six touchdowns on the year and Godwin, who will be out for the season, had five. The Bucs passing attack has been the focal point of the entire team and without those two, it’s going to be tough to recreate that level of success. To say the young receivers in McMillan and Palmer have big shoes to fill is an understatement.
But it won’t only rely on the success of Baker Mayfield through the air without the two top receivers. This offense has seen growing success in their rushing attack and during the absence of their top receivers, it must evolve even more. Bucky Irving’s status for Sunday is uncertain, but Rachaad White and Sean Tucker will have a lot to say about how this game is determined. I have faith that the Tampa Bay offensive play caller will implement those guys, as well as still find a way to make sure Mayfield can throw for his share of yardage as well.
Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
Sunday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. ET
Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)
Tampa, Florida
Television: FOX
TV Broadcast Team: Adam Amin (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Pam Oliver (reporter)
Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station
Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente
Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have entered the thick of their season and now, the team is without key offensive weapons moving forward. Wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are both out for the foreseeable future and Bucs fans will have to get ready for a new look offense.
They’ll go up against an Atlanta Falcons team they just traveled to see on Thursday night but only three weeks ago. It was a hard fought, overtime battle, but the Falcons ultimately won the game with a long OT touchdown reception.
We should expect a nice workload from a now healthy Rachaad White as Bucky Irving’s status is uncertain for Sunday, but the offense will still rely on Baker Mayfield and the team’s passing attack. We will see what new starters Jalen McMillan, Sterling Shepard and Trey Palmer have to bring to the table. It will be up to Liam Coen to implement a game plan that puts his inexperienced guys in positions to succeed.
For Todd Bowles and this defense, we have to see a change of fortune, as this Falcons team that is coming in recently broke their franchise record for passing yards in a game against the Bucs back in week five. While also coming off a game like the Ravens on Monday Night, this defense should be playing with a fire and ready to go.
So what are a few questions this Tampa Bay team can answer about themselves in this huge divisional matchup? Let’s see.
Are These New Bucs Targets Ready For Their New Role?
For the upcoming Tampa Bay receivers, they’ll be asked to do a lot moving forward. For veteran Sterling Shepard, his goal is to do whatever he can to help the young guys improve and the team win. His experience will prove to be a huge plus for this receiving room moving forward as Godwin and Evans are absent.
Shepard’s impact will be huge on both Trey Palmer and rookie Jalen McMillan, who have both played well in their time on the field in 2024. But this opportunity to see an increase in targets and snap count will be an enormous boost to the development of both Palmer and McMillan, and the team seems confident in their abilities immediately.
There’s no replacing a duo as dominant as Godwin or Evans, but with a tweak to the offensive philosophy, Baker Mayfield should still be able to see success. Implementing his tight ends and running backs will surely be a part of the plan. It’ll be interesting to see how much impact these guys have in their first game as starters in this offense!
Is This Defense Really Who We Think They Are?
Buccaneers’ fans have seen and understood the type of defense this same Todd Bowles’ defense is capable of being. The performance against Baltimore isn’t completely alarming, giving up 500 yards to last year’s MVP and the newly formed Ravens’ offense is okay. But it’s the consistency of these outbreaking performances from opposing offenses that starts to make fans question what is going on.
With stars like Vita Vea, Antoine Winfield Jr., and Lavonte David at full health, there is more expected of this defense and they will be heavily relied on moving forward. Starting this week against these Falcons.
Kirk Cousins passing the way he did in week five cannot be an option. The focus will have to be on stopping Drake London, Kyle Pitts and the rest of these Atlanta weapons that burnt them in their last match up. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier should be the ones that will have to beat this Tampa Bay defense. Todd Bowles has quite the task on his hands for this Buccaneers throwback classic.
Is Liam Coen As Crafty As We Believe?
Tampa Bay’s new offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been given high praise by fans so far in 2024, and rightfully so. This offense ranks among the league's best and it’s been refreshing to see such a traditional, yet crafty offense be displayed in Coen’s play calling.
But Mike Evans, who will be out until at least week eleven, had six touchdowns on the year and Godwin, who will be out for the season, had five. The Bucs passing attack has been the focal point of the entire team and without those two, it’s going to be tough to recreate that level of success. To say the young receivers in McMillan and Palmer have big shoes to fill is an understatement.
But it won’t only rely on the success of Baker Mayfield through the air without the two top receivers. This offense has seen growing success in their rushing attack and during the absence of their top receivers, it must evolve even more. Bucky Irving’s status for Sunday is uncertain, but Rachaad White and Sean Tucker will have a lot to say about how this game is determined. I have faith that the Tampa Bay offensive play caller will implement those guys, as well as still find a way to make sure Mayfield can throw for his share of yardage as well.
Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
Sunday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. ET
Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)
Tampa, Florida
Television: FOX
TV Broadcast Team: Adam Amin (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Pam Oliver (reporter)
Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station
Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente
Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst)
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