Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It’s been a really weird season for Dirk Koetter’s team. They find themselves in fourth place in the NFC South despite having the top-ranked offense in the NFL. As you might expect, their defense has struggled mightily.
As a matter of fact, that unit is dead last in the league when it comes to points allowed. The Buccaneers secondary is a complete disaster. Some of the blame goes to the inability of the Tampa Bay defensive line to pressure the passer, but the corners just haven’t been good enough.
The biggest question remains who should be the team’s starting quarterback. Ryan Fitzpatrick began the year on fire, but fizzled out and gave way to Jameis Winston once the former Florida State star returned from injury. Then, Koetter went back to Fitzpatrick again late in Week 8 against the Bengals. The wily veteran helped Tampa Bay tie the game before losing the lead late.
In some ways, we should applaud the Buccaneers for grinding out a 3-4 record. That’s hard to do with one of the worst defenses in football. However, none of this feels terribly sustainable. It’s hard to envision this offense staying so dominant with uncertainty at quarterback. There’s a reason Koetter’s job is in serious jeopardy.