Tampa Bay is undefeated but not playing great football.
Undefeated Buccaneers not hitting on 'all cylinders' despite Jets win originally appeared on The Sporting News
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers escaped with a 29-27 win over the New York Jets at Raymond James Stadium, as Todd Bowles' team now moves to 3-0 on the season.
With Baker Mayfield now leading three straight game-winning drives to begin the year, he and the offense still aren't clicking in the way coordinator Josh Grizzard would want. But the sign of a good team is to stack the wins even when you aren't playing well, and that is the case for Tampa through three weeks.
And for NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman, the Buccaneers aren't firing as yet, and they will get bigger tests down the road.
“Tampa Bay's perfect start is only in the standings,” Bergman writes. “For the third straight week, the Buccaneers won one at the buzzer, a sign that despite coming away victorious, they're not hitting on all cylinders yet. Tampa Bay will be truly tested next week, when it hosts the undefeated reigning Super Bowl champs.”
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Buccaneers take strangle hold of NFC South
Tampa Bay is now clear in the lead for the division with both the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons at 1-2, with the Buccaneers at 3-0.
So, Mayfield and Co. have done a good job to get out of the gate hot, despite living dangerously in all three games.
With Tampa Bay seen as NFC contenders and even dark horse Super Bowl contenders, it is stacking wins despite not playing well, and there will be some tough outings coming up, but at least the franchise has created a cushion for itself.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and the Detroit Lions are up next, and we will get a true gauge of where the Buccaneers sit in the NFC pecking order.
But right now? At 3-0? Mayfield and Co. are doing just enough and have taken hold of the division in the process.
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