I had never been more confident that the Buccaneers were on the precipice of losing than after that Adam Thielen one-handed catch in OT. I saw my soul leave my body. It would’ve been a fitting end to what was one of the least convincing wins I have ever seen the Bucs get. A truly terrible performance from all parties involved. No one should be happy. Not the Bucs, not the Panthers, and certainly not those with rooting interest in either team.
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If I had to name a positive from this game is that Bucky Irving is absolutely the future. I had my doubts throughout the season about his capability in being the starter, but after today, he can do it. He had 25 carries for 152 yards and a TD. And that was with a hip injury for a lot of the second half. Even Rachaad White had a good game with 11 carries for 76 yards. The running game as a whole did an incredible job.
Baker Mayfield is an enigma. He was complete garbage for most the game, but when the team needed him most, he was like Batman and delivered. However, that doesn’t take away from his performance in non clutch time. This is on par with the 49ers game as his worst performance. He threw two God-awful interceptions in the game, both of which directly led to Panthers points. And he had some of the worst sacks I had ever seen.
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The o-line in general was complete and utter refuse, but Mayfield would escape a sack only to lose more yards instead of throwing the ball away, something Bryce Young was exceptional at. But like I said, he was there when the Bucs needed him and led the team to tie the game with under a minute and also helped get them into FG range in overtime. Love or hate him, dude plays with his heart and soul.
Now, before I get to the other bad, Trenton Gill, what in the hell is wrong with you? His performance was so awful that it made me miss Jake Camarda’s 10 net yards. He shanked a punt early that led to a Panthers TD, kicked the ball off short to give the Panthers ten extra yards, and screwed up a FG snap in OT. A legendary performance in incompetence.
If you want true incompetence though, let’s turn toward the men of the hour. Liam Coen and Todd Bowles. Liam was cooking something today. It was a well-done ribeye. And I despise a well-done steak. Let me give you a scenario. You’re facing the worst run defense and it’s 3rd and 1 with two healthy and capable RBs. What do you do? If you answered chuck it deep, congratulations, you win an interception. I grant you the same prize that the Bucs got in that same circumstance. Much like the Saints game earlier this year, Coen outsmarted himself.
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If Coen was a clown though, Bowles was the goddamn Ringmaster. I remarked at some point that the Buccaneers defense wasn’t too terrible this game. However, they benefited from two missed FGs in easy range (again) and a TD not called one because Stevie Wonder stepped in for the refs. The final drive by the Panthers in OT was something to behold. If I were to put tape out there for what a DC shouldn’t do in the clutch, this was it.
Soft coverage and blown assignments were the name of the game. He most certainly did not convince anybody that he should remain HC after this season. Although Coen also didn’t convince me he should replace him. Bryce Young also had his career best in this game. Are you even shocked?
The Panthers will look at this game later and try to remember how they lost this contest. Because they had the Buccaneers dead to rights. the Bucs did not win so much as they did survive. All they did was stand around and watch the other team’s WRs drop the easiest passes in the world. Division games always offer an unusual experience, but everyone on the team needs to run laps except for Bucky and watch this game tape extensively. Because if this kind of performance is turned in again, their butts will be firmly handed to them most likely.
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