The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the season with significant expectations surrounding the team.
Two weeks later, those expectations have been replaced by plenty of questions after an 0-2 start.
Tampa Bay suffered a 23-19 home loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2. Cleveland entered that matchup after getting blown out 34-10 by Jacksonville the previous week.
Ronde Barber Has Concerns About Tampa Bay
Buccaneers legend and Hall of Famer Ronde Barber recently offered an unsettling assessment of the team.
During his WFLA show, Barber discussed the Buccaneers ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings.
“Look, the mood is not great,” via JoeBucsFan. “There’s too many mistakes. There’s a lack of urgency, if you will, in my mind when I look at them going onto the field. There’s got to be a little bit of a sense of a defining characteristic of your team through Week 2. I don’t know what that is. It’s mistakes. It’s busts. It’s lack of execution.”
Those comments point toward a team still searching for its identity.
Through two games, mistakes have repeatedly overshadowed stretches of encouraging play.
Baker Mayfield Has Pressure To Deliver
Quarterback Baker Mayfield also finds himself under additional scrutiny after signing a major contract extension earlier this month.
Mayfield had one final opportunity to lead Tampa Bay down the field against his former team. His final two passes fell incomplete, ending the Buccaneers’ comeback attempt.
That sequence prompted questions about whether Tampa Bay could eventually regret its massive investment in the quarterback. The season remains young, but Mayfield’s performance will remain a major storyline.
Tampa Bay Still Searching For Its Stride
Barber also questioned whether the Buccaneers are anywhere close to finding their rhythm.
“Week 2 can’t be the fifth preseason game,” Barber continued. “At some point you have to start hitting your stride. And it doesn’t feel like they’re in their stride right now on either side of the ball. I feel like for much of the secondary, especially the coverage unit, they’re so focused on what they’re trying to do that they don’t know how to do it now.”
That assessment is particularly concerning for a team preparing for an undefeated Minnesota squad.
The Buccaneers cannot afford another game filled with the same mistakes and execution issues.
Buccaneers Face Critical Early Test
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Tampa Bay as a 1.5-point home underdog against Minnesota.
The Buccaneers now have an opportunity to change the narrative before the season gets away from them.
An 0-3 start would put even more pressure on Todd Bowles and the entire organization. More importantly, Tampa Bay needs to show signs of becoming the team many expected before the season began.
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