Overreaction Monday: 4 teams that won in NFL Week 1 but will miss the playoffs
By Kristen Wong
NFL Week 1 Winner, Season Loser No. 3: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Oh, Baker Mayfield. We've missed you. It came as a mild surprise when one of the most polarizing (and sensitive) quarterbacks in the league made the throws he needed to make to lift the Buccaneers to victory against the Vikings on Sunday. No one's mistaking him for Tom Brady, but there may be hope for Tampa Bay this year.
Then again, the NFC South isn't as in the dumps as it was in 2022. The Saints came marching to a gritty win over the Titans despite a virtually non-existent running game. The Falcons basically did the opposite of the Saints and used their star running back duo to generate most of their offensive production in a divisional victory over the Panthers.
Tampa Bay may have taken the poorly-prepared Vikings off guard in Week 1 -- count that as a rare win. The Bucs will likely smooth out inefficiency issues with running back Rachaad White and a disgruntled Mike Evans is still on the team, but one narrow win over last year's biggest playoff pretender aside, this squad is far from playoff-caliber.
When Tom Brady retired, the Bucs knew they were in for at least a few see-sawing seasons of mediocrity. Remembering Mayfield's track record will help curb their expectations after Week 1's upset.