Bucs OC Josh Grizzard.

When you don’t have a defense, you better have an offense. A powerful offense.

All the injuries the Bucs have had finally caught up with them in Detroit. And the offense really hasn’t fully recovered.

The best the Bucs offense has looked in maybe a month was in Buffalo. The offense wasn’t really explosive, but explosive enough to win a game — provided the Bucs had a defense.

The way the Bucs’ defense has played, or more correctly, hasn’t played, the Bucs need a fully explosive, dangerous offense to overcome a defensive sieve. And thanks to the injuries to the skill position players, the Bucs don’t have that.

In typing about the Bucs offense, Brooke Pryor of BSPN also believes the injuries on offense may have Pearl Harbored the Bucs.

What has gone wrong? The aforementioned injuries have caused a big headache for the first-year playcaller. Receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan; running back Bucky Irving; and offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs, Luke Goedeke and Cody Mauch have all missed multiple games. Beyond that, the Bucs’ offense has especially struggled on third down where they rank in the bottom third, converting 36.2%.

The Bucs had a solid day in Buffalo on Sunday with third-down conversions, turning over half of their third downs into first downs. That’s not bad.

But again, despite the run game breaking out, the Bucs simply don’t have the horses on offense to put up 40 points a game. Not now. Not without Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Bucky Irving.

The way the defense is playing (849 yards allowed in the past two games), 40 points a game is exactly what the Bucs need to stay in the playoff chase.