Bucs’ Pass Blocking Crumbled After Luke Goedeke Injury
September 16th, 2025
When right tackle Luke Goedeke went down with a foot injury, the Bucs’ pass blocking quickly deteriorated.
Your eyes were not deceiving you. The Bucs’ pass blocking imploded once right tackle Luke Goedeke left the game.
You may have felt it. You may have noticed it with your eyeballs. You may have believed what Joe Buck was saying.
But NextGen Stats has proof. Baker Mayfield’s time to throw decreased by a third once Goedeke couldn’t go. But that wasn’t the only factor.
Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter began to figure out Graham Barton. As we all know, Barton moved from center to left tackle to replace Tristan Wirfs.
Barton did well last week against a rookie. Going against a master like Hunter proved to be a hill a little too steep with so little experience at left tackle in the NFL.
(Yes, Joe knows Barton played left tackle at Duke. As Barton himself told Joe, the ACC is a little different animal than the NFL. Owning a child playing for Wake Forest and tangling with Hunter are two very different challenges.)
Hunter seemed to be able to use his speed to bounce right past Barton to get to Mayfield. The Steers dropped Mayfield four times, two by Hunter. Hunter also had a quarterback hit.
Prior to Goedeke leaving, per NextGen Stats, Mayfield averaged 3.31 seconds from snap to getting get rid of the ball. After Goedeke left, that was cut to 2.23 seconds.
Joe has no idea if Goedeke can go in the home opener with the Jets on Sunday. The good news for Joe is the Jets don’t have Will Anderson or Hunter to keep away from Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield's average time to throw changed dramatically after right tackle Luke Goedeke left the game late in the first quarter against the Texans.
Mayfield averaged 3.31 seconds to throw with Goedeke compared to 2.23 seconds without him.#TBvsHOU | #WeAreTheKrewe pic.twitter.com/JFM4XuhJWE
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 16, 2025
September 16th, 2025 at 3:58 am
Mayfield is one tough NFL quarterback. He ain’t normal. He took so many hits last night that should have sent him out but he just gets up and does it again. We are so lucky to have him and talk about clutch.
September 16th, 2025 at 4:01 am
I’m pretty sure everyone saw it. Goedeke’s impact is huge. I’m glad we were able to figure it out, but honestly we’re going to be in trouble if we’re down a few scores and HAVE to throw… Hunter had a fake inside to outside move that Barton got absolutely owned on. It could have been much worse for the good guys tho.
September 16th, 2025 at 4:27 am
Time to spend good money on a RT in FA Jason.
September 16th, 2025 at 4:32 am
Trey Pipkins?
September 16th, 2025 at 4:54 am
Baker took a beating last night and still did a heck of a job.
I noticed the drop off in our pass play blocking almost immediately, and the corresponding drop in how much time Baker had to get the ball out of his hands.
The Texans’ D came to the game as advertised. They play tough and they’re good.
It wasn’t perfect, but I still think we need to give some credit to our O-line and the entire offense… we still pulled off the victory!
September 16th, 2025 at 5:04 am
If Luke Goedeke misses extended time with his foot injury, the Buccaneers could turn to a strategic offensive line shuffle. Tristan Wirfs would likely shift back to his natural right tackle spot, while Graham Barton holds down the left tackle position. Ben Bredeson would remain at center with Michael Jordan staying at left guard. It may not be ideal, but it’s a practical adjustment to weather the storm and keep the team in position to win.
September 16th, 2025 at 5:53 am
^ i dont know, lets go get Pipkins.
September 16th, 2025 at 6:05 am
I would think you put Tristan on the left to protect the blindside…
September 16th, 2025 at 6:19 am
Heck was an absolute disaster.
It’s going to be interesting to see which side Glenn lines up Q next week. If I’m him, I’m lining him up over the Jordan side rather than Mauch, which would mean Bred will have to help that side, which would mean Heck would be playing a lot of one on one. I don’t care if it’s not Anderson on that side, that dude didn’t look like he belonged in the league pass blocking. He wasn’t awful on the ground.
If Wirfs can get back next week it’s going to help everything. I’m not planning on having Luke.
September 16th, 2025 at 6:41 am
And to make matters worse. Mauch was also limping around in the 4th quarter. Didn’t look good.
September 16th, 2025 at 6:50 am
The 1st drive and half the second drive we made it look easy to move the Ball on the Texans ( something the Rams couldn’t do). I know Heck finished the 2nd drive but you could definitely tell the pass blocking wasn’t there, then you add in they had decent coverage and it wasn’t pretty in the passing game. With that said I thought the interior Oline was good at Run blocking.
September 16th, 2025 at 6:52 am
I’ve been a critic of Baker on these comments, not that I don’t like Baker, it’s hard not to like him, I just didn’t think he could be consistently relied on at the end of games, such as these. And yet, 2-games in a row he closed, and that one last night might have been his most dramatic I think as a Buc, and for me, he would have gotten a pass if he couldn’t make it happen given how bad our offensive tackles were last night, it was terrifying to watch this offense in 3rd and longs after Goedeke went out, AND YET on that final drive, Baker’s epic run on 4th down to convert, just when you think Irving had been serviceable throughout the game, his catch and run pin balling off of a tough Texans def was epic, White was in full beast mode and in those waning moments, Baker mastered the time of possession.
Another thing that will be missed from last night, with the exception of that “almost” int Baker threw trying to hit Egbuka earlier in the game, Baker was on target all night. His throws looked really sharp, with a healthy Oline, we blow out the Texans, even as good as their def is.
September 16th, 2025 at 7:21 am
Baker will not be able to keep getting a beating like he has the last 2 weeks. We really need Wirfs back and move Barton back to center.
September 16th, 2025 at 7:22 am
We all know everything starts in the trenches. Even though our GM has made some decent picks, he fails at bringing in back up talent. There shouldn’t be a huge dropoff between starters and backups. But then there’s the Bucs.
September 16th, 2025 at 7:26 am
The difference between Howie Roseman and Jason Licht is that Roseman prioritizes OL and DL and stocks the position. Roseman knows the game is won or lost in the trenches. Licht just likes shiny toys. But guess what, those shiny toys are rendered useless if Baker is on his back.
September 16th, 2025 at 7:37 am
If folks take a second to look at the BIG PICTURE … WE WON! Was it ugly? Oh ya, it was UGLY, but again … WE WON! I thought it was gonna progress into a very high-scoring ballgame (like in 2023?), but after each team scored on their first 2 drives, the defenses shut things down. Well, at least until late in the 4th qtr.
Bucs actually dominated offensively, despite our OLine trials & tribulations, and several injuries (Goedeke, Egbuka, White?). Bucs had 72 plays (not counting kicks or penalties) for 37:09 TOP, while the Texans had only 46 plays for 22:51 TOP. That’s a mammoth difference IMO, and is a credit to the play of both our offense AND our defense.
Baker’s running & passing were key to the victory, although his deep passing was really bad on the night (Evans was 1-of-5 deep, Egbuka was 0-of-3 deep and Miller was 1-of-1 … for a TD. But Baker did get THREE 3rd/4th down situations into 1st downs with his running to keep drives alive. Awesome!
September 16th, 2025 at 8:02 am
Very impressed with not that Michael Jordan lol….
Great win!!!!
GO BUCS
September 16th, 2025 at 8:10 am
they showed Luke on the sideline he could not even walk, notgood
September 16th, 2025 at 8:18 am
Everyone will be better because of last night. Getting a win on the road by scoring with 6 seconds left is an epic, season-defining moment.
September 16th, 2025 at 8:39 am
“Bucs actually dominated offensively, despite our OLine trials & tribulations, and several injuries (Goedeke, Egbuka, White?)“
Dominated? My brother, after our first 2 scores we went dormant for 7 possessions before scoring again. 5 punts, a missed FG, and a blocked punt. We score on a third of those this game isn’t as close to what it ended up being. Not trying to piss on anybodys parade, a win is a win is a win, but we’re far from playing dominate football. We were allowed to sit on that 14 points and have the confidence we had because our defense kept Houston off the board for the most part.
20 & 19 points allowed in the past 8 days isn’t shabby either.
September 16th, 2025 at 8:45 am
David Says:
September 16th, 2025 at 7:26 am
The difference between Howie Roseman and Jason Licht is that Roseman prioritizes OL
What a weak take — the Eagles weakest position for backups this year are their OT’s. One is a 6th round rookie. The other is an ex-Gator that when pressed into play last year got a 37 PFF pass blocking grade allowing 8 sacks in the 6 games he played.
September 16th, 2025 at 9:00 am
Hey, give Heck some credit. What the heck?
He was great on tripping a defender and not getting caught.
We got a TD out of that. LOL
September 16th, 2025 at 9:06 am
Baker 2 for 9 on 20+ yard passes…. 23 for 27 on passes under 20 yards.
I think the ‘more deep shots’ idea that was talked about all offseason needs to be shelved somewhat – at least until the OLine gets healthy….
September 16th, 2025 at 9:18 am
Pickgrin Agree! It’s amazing the night and day difference when Heck went in.
Having said that I hope they keep the deep ball in their arsenal because as we saw in Atlanta when Baker gets time he can wing it!
D.R. Agree! The Bucs win…the Bucs win.
How would you feel about our chances going against a good team on their field if we blow an easy FG and get a punt blocked that gave them 3. Six points for nothing.
This is why Jason gets paid the big money. I wouldn’t want to be in his chair right now after those first two games with Chase. Perhaps Chase gets his head together, he obviously has kicked great before…but…kicker can be head cases and go south quickly. How does Jason handle the kicking situation?
September 16th, 2025 at 9:47 am
This is what a team looks like with injuries, a rookie OC, and is gutsy with great team cohesion and camaraderie. One game at a time, Bucs. BTW, the Head Coach is pretty good, too. Just ask Bijan Robinson. 🙂
September 16th, 2025 at 10:00 am
Grizz and Bake need to go back to the short quick passing game of last year. A three step drop and throw, getting rid of the ball under 2.5 seconds. Baker won’t get hit as much, Heck will do better, and the offense will wear down defenses with long drives. Once the OL gets healthier and better, then mix in the deeper drops and deep balls.
September 16th, 2025 at 10:10 am
Chukwuma in at a tackle position and see if he is ready.
September 16th, 2025 at 10:43 am
Heck is Skule. Maybe not even that. Hot quote Scotty from Star Trek, “He’s giving her all he’s got, Captain.” But, let’s rotate some more dudes randomly. Maybe sign a guard from someone’s practice squad, then put him at right tackle, and just slide everybody over one place.
September 16th, 2025 at 11:08 am
I’m not as concerned about the OL as others. Wirfs will be back at LT, Brederson and Barton back to their normal positions as well. Heck stays in at RT if Luke misses an extended period of time. Heck is fine in the run game, bad in the pass game. On pass plays, give him a TE to help block or a RB to chip, both if it’s a deep shot and the extra three quarters of a second make a huge difference.
Fortunately, not every team has a Danielle Hunter and a Will Anderson with a Sheldon Rankins just coming nonstop. That was a top 5 (top 3?) DL, and while it was as ugly as should have been expected, the OL did enough to contribute to the W.
The sky isn’t falling yet on the OL, but one more key injury and it might.
Also, props to the “not that” Michael Jordan. To not hear his name called once in two weeks says that the organization once again found a quality piece of OL depth. He’s what Opeta was supposed to be, solid depth and a serviceable spot starter who won’t embarrass himself.
September 16th, 2025 at 11:19 am
MJ Says: “They showed Luke on the sideline he could not even walk, not good.” Saw him losing his balance too, sad to see.
September 16th, 2025 at 11:26 am
Yeah that Roseman vs Licht take is inaccurate. It’s not only the players but the staff that helps them and the Bucs have done a great job so far. I mean they shuffle 3 starters on the O-line in week 1. Week 2 against a very good Texans D they have another starter go out. And win the game. That’s pretty stout. On Defense starter goes out early and yet the replacements, 1 a rookie play stout ball getting interior pass rush and run stops. I gotta ask what more do some people want? Just to pick apart a team for no other reason than to just be picky is stupid.