Better Be Able To Pass The Ball On New England
November 4th, 2025
“Bucky, it’s gonna be tough sledding this week.”
Joe knows Todd Bowles likes to run the ball. Good luck with that this week.
Joe hopes that whatever was ailing Baker Mayfield the past couple of weeks has healed over the bye. Because if the Bucs’ offense wants to put points on the board Sunday against the Patriots, it’s going to come off the arm of Mayfield, not the legs of Rachaad White or Bucky Irving or Sean Tucker.
The Patriots have been downright lockdown on defense against the run.
How much so? No running back this season has gotten 50 yards rushing on the Patriots. In fact, New England has only allowed over 50 yards rushing once this year. That was in a 23-20 win over Buffalo, when Bills quarterback Josh Allen ran for 53 yards.
So if guys like Ashton Jeanty, James Cook, Jaylen Warren, Chuba Hubbard, Alvin Kamara and Bijan Robinson can’t run for 50 yards, Joe doesn’t see how White will.
That means the Bucs will have to rely on Mayfield’s right arm.
Opponents’ leading rushers vs. New England:
Ashton Jeanty, Raiders, 38
De’Von Achane, Dolphins, 30
Jaylen Warren, Steelers, 47
Chuba Hubbard, Panthers, 49
Josh Allen, Bills, 53
Alvin Kamara, Saints, 31
Tyjae Spears, Titans, 22
Malachi Corley, Browns, 31
Bijan Robinson, Dixie Chicks 46
November 4th, 2025 at 7:09 am
Wow. Great analysis.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:20 am
Bucky’s playing?
November 4th, 2025 at 7:26 am
Use the pass to establish the run.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:26 am
@Joes is Bucky back? BucsWire has an article talking about see Bucky and the Bucs take on the Patriots.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:27 am
F ‘em. They aren’t that good. Their head coach is an ass. They are starting to fade.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:28 am
Raiders, Dolphins, Saints, Titans, Browns…
Bills, that’s it.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:29 am
Grizz needs to get back to screen passes and checkdowns to White. Get him more involved in the passing game.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:32 am
It’s probably gonna be Gonzalez on Egbuka because everyone else at WR is injured so hopefully Egbuka has a good game. Otherwise Kameron & Tez are gonna have to have a good game & they’ll probably have to use the TEs more. Unless Bucky is gonna be playing which would help.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:39 am
As I look at our 2 losses Joe, I see us falling behind very early in each game, then passing a lot more than running in an attempt to catch up. Baker’s completion percentages in each loss were well below his season average.
o Philadelphia loss: Bucs fell behind 14-0 halfway through the 1st qtr; we ran it 26 times (104 yds, 0 TDs) and passed it 40 times, with 22 complete (55.0%) for 289 yds, 2 TD & 1 INT.
o Detroit loss: Bucs fell behind 14-0 halfway through the 2nd qtr; we ran it 12 times (41 yds, 0 TDs) and passed it 50 times, with 28 complete (56.0%), 1 TD & 1 INT.
So in those 2 losses, Baker completed 50-of-90 passes (55.6%) for 393 yds, 3 TD & 2 INT. Just for the record, those are the ONLY 2 INTs he’s thrown this year, and his 55.6% completion rate is over 8% LESS than 63.9% average he’s thrown for this season.
More significantly, it’s 15% less than the 71.5% completion rate he threw for last season. Without an effective running game, and focusing mostly on the short passing game, Baker needs to have a completion percentage that’s well up there to keep drives moving forward. That 55.6% won’t hack it; drives will stall (duh, kinda what we saw?).
On the season, we desperately miss Evans & Godwin being healthy. Evans is sporting a 43.8% catch percentage this season. (vs a career average of 58.1%). Godwin has a 42.9% catch percentage this season (vs a career average of 70.5%). And Emeka Egbuka’s catch percentage is only 54.0% this year. Yup, something’s not right.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:48 am
Our Oline has been breaking down badly ‘
& our WRs not getting open.
November 4th, 2025 at 7:56 am
Tbbf
Receivers were open in Detroit and New Orleans, Vaker was either high and outside, or late and short.
November 4th, 2025 at 8:02 am
If Bucky is 💯 he’ll get a 100+
November 4th, 2025 at 8:03 am
The OL has to get much better to run the ball with White, and I don’t see it happening against NE. Defenses have maintained their pass rushing lanes making it tough for Baker to scramble and I expect NE to do the same.
Other teams are killing defenses with their TE catching the ball, and Grizz needs to target the TE’s for a more unpredictable passing game. I like how Dev Culp has been getting snaps on runs so it’s not a tell when he comes into the game. Now it’s time to target him.
November 4th, 2025 at 8:05 am
Of the next three games, this game with the Pats coming here worries me the more than the games going to Buffalo & LA. We seem to be a more focused team on road games for some odd reason. With the exception of the 49ers game here at home, we tend to show up for home games half asleep in the first half. Last year as well ie., the Broncos game. The Bucs need to change that mindset yesterday. To establish a ‘home field’ advantage from here on to the finish line would be nice to see. Of course getting some guys back from injuries will certainly help moving forward. Win 2 of the next 3 games with no significant injuries will set us up nicely for the back stretch. Go Bucs!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 8:08 am
Better be able to do EVERYTHING better than the Patriots!
November 4th, 2025 at 8:09 am
Thats not a good scenario considering the Bucs have struggled running the ball all year .
Hopefully the week off allowed coaches to do some deep dives on what has been working and what hasn’t so far – in order to to come up with an excellent game plan vs the Patriots.
Grizz needs to call a great game this week. He needs a plan that keeps the New England defense off balance and guessing what’s coming all game long.
Pass and play action pass when they expect run and run when they anticipate a pass. We should see at least a couple/few attempts at draw plays when the Bucs are lined up with 11 personnel (3 receivers)…. not sure if I’ve seen the Bucs run a draw all year…..
November 4th, 2025 at 8:10 am
We need Goedeke , Bucky & either Godwin or JMac to have an effective offense…
November 4th, 2025 at 8:11 am
Starting to get the consensus Bucs are staying neutral in the last day of Trade deadline. In Licht we trust. Also smells like the bye week may have gotten a few guys back. Now the real test begins. Carolina is for real. It’s time to turn up the heat in Tampa.
November 4th, 2025 at 8:18 am
DR, something is not right for sure. You say Baker threw for 393 in our 2 losses. You say he threw for 289 against Philly. That means he threw for 104 against Detroit. On 50 passes. I’m too lazy to look it up but it looks like something is not right with your ciphering DR. Hard to believe that he threw the ball 50 times for 103 yards. But our offense definitely was sucking that Lions game. I’m just wondering how we are down on points scored by so much compared to last year considering how much we have improved on turnovers. It’s some strange stats for sure. If we can get communication ironed out on our OLine and get a receiver or 2 and Bucky back I think we will see more of what we expect to see.
November 4th, 2025 at 8:24 am
Okay DR, I looked it up. He threw for 228 against Detroit. We have 4 times less picks (400%) than last year yet we have scored 20% less points. How do we explain that one?
November 4th, 2025 at 8:29 am
yea white will get around 50 or less. that’s any game not just the next one.
November 4th, 2025 at 8:34 am
Can anyone find out if Bucky and Luke are playing for sure.🤙🏾
November 4th, 2025 at 8:38 am
NO JOE!!!!!!!!
when the lions had a depleted secondary, most thought it was smart to attack the secondary…WRONG!!!…the lions were waiting & ready for that!!!
force the secondary to come up and tackle…force them to be eye discipline….
in order to do that, we have to use play action….in order for that to work, we need to run the ball!!!!…Grizz cant abandon the run!!!!
run the ball between the tackles, off tackle and use jet sweeps and draws!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 8:43 am
Grizz will run it on 1st down and 50% of the time on 2nd down, will play behind the sticks all game. Canales 2.0
November 4th, 2025 at 8:49 am
We are going to try and get the #1 seed with Double E, Shepard, Tez & Kam.
👍🏾
November 4th, 2025 at 8:50 am
gotta learn from your mistakes!!!!
we mistakenly tried to attack the lions thru the air because they had a banged up secondary!!!
Lions coaches had the DBs practicing physical tight coverage all week because they knew where their weakness lied….and they knew the OC would try to exploit the secondary….
dont fall into the same trap!!!!….RUN THE BALL & RUN IT AGAIN!!!
GO BUCS!!!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 8:51 am
gotta have 50+ rushing attempts this game!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 8:54 am
Kenton … You’re right; Baker threw for 289 in the Philly game, but then I added the 104 yds rushing to come up with the 393 yards instead of his actual 241 yds passing against Detroit (old eyes looking in the wrong spot strikes again).
The yardage isn’t what concerns me though. For us to fall behind like we did in those 2 games, then revert primarily to the pass to catch up, we NEED a high completion rate of short passes (to keep drives moving forward) OR we need to hit a number of deep passes (to complete the drives in fewer passes). We didn’t do either in those 2 losses.
Those a 2 great examples of why a ‘balanced attack’ capability is so important IMO. If we become one-dimensional, defenses will just focus on the pass AND should do better at stopping it (lower pass completion rates, more INTs, fewer TDs, etc). Baker’s pass completion rate last year (71.5%) was much higher than his career average IMO because (1) our running game was excellent; (2) our receivers were getting open & their catch percentages were up; and (3) our passing attack focused largely on dink-and-dunk (short passes typically have higher probability of completion?).
November 4th, 2025 at 9:01 am
@Tampabaybucfan – what games have you been watching??? Mayfield has been overthrowing and underthrowing wide open receivers.
November 4th, 2025 at 9:01 am
@Tampabaybucfan – what games have you been watching??? Mayfield has been overthrowing and underthrowing wide open receivers
November 4th, 2025 at 9:03 am
also dropped passes from receivers as well, they are open both just not executing .
November 4th, 2025 at 9:04 am
Patriots are back on top, coming to Tampa and going home with another dub.
November 4th, 2025 at 9:04 am
@Tampabaybucfan – what games have you been watching??? Mayfield has been overthrowing and underthrowing wide open receivers, and dropped passes. they are open just not executing.
November 4th, 2025 at 9:05 am
4-0 on the road
November 4th, 2025 at 9:06 am
Wow, Josh Allen on the list! So crazy.
Go Bucs!
November 4th, 2025 at 9:21 am
DR, the balanced attack is important. Starting strong is important. But having half the starters injured can really put a strain on the best laid plans. This league is too competitive to think we can win it without half our OLine and playmakers. Our 6-2 record is a testament to how well our defense is playing and our entire roster is contributing. I’m thinking we have alot of upside offensively going forward and it’s clear to me that our defense has gotten more swagger. We’re going to be really tough to beat from here on out.
November 4th, 2025 at 9:23 am
Our running game/scheme is terrible.
Like others said above, we need to pass (successfully and accurately) to establish the run game.
Hopefully, Baker is healed up enough to throw accurately and scramble effectively when needed.
November 4th, 2025 at 9:46 am
Joe can we make sure Todd sees This.
November 4th, 2025 at 9:55 am
some of yall want history to repeat itself lol…..
lions secondary was banged up and grizz thought he was going to exploit them by becoming pass happy….DID NOT WORK!!!!
stick to the run grizz!!!!…
run between the tackles, off tackle, jet sweeps and draws!!!!!!
50+ rushes this game!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 10:03 am
of those lists of rushers only 1 is on a team above .500 lol….
Rushing for 100+yards vs the PATS should be Grizz and the offenses goal this week!!!!!!
50+ rushes!!!!
Lots of 12 & 22 personnel!!!!!!
GO BUCS!!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 11:08 am
Run White behind Wirfs….then throw screens to the right w/ Tucker by having Graham pull and Heck down block.
November 4th, 2025 at 11:14 am
The other side of the coin is that the Pats defense has allowed the 13th highest passer rating at 97.8 with 15 TD allowed against 7 interceptions playing against 7 teams in the top 10 for worst passer ratings in the NFL. That includes the Browns, Panthers, Titans, Dolphins, Raiders, Falcons and Saints.
November 4th, 2025 at 11:16 am
Screens, slants, bootlegs will do wonders for the rhythm and run game to open up. Hope Grizz gets creative and stops with the vanilla play calling we have seen the last few weeks.
November 4th, 2025 at 11:17 am
The Bucs’ secondary is the best part of the defense right now. Their major players are back. Don’t think NE doesn’t know it. The refs will also be a factor. The Bucs have to bring their A game ( Hint: Grizzard better have done some homework) Sunday. They have 2 teams they will oppose. GO BUCS!!
November 4th, 2025 at 11:20 am
Any word on BUCKY returning?
November 4th, 2025 at 11:21 am
Oscar … We still need to run a reasonable amount to keep the Pats’ defense ‘honest’, but their biggest vulnerability is their Pass Defense. Baker is excellent when he’s ‘on’, but he’s been struggling lately. Oline not giving him quality protection is one factor. Lack of a dominating run game is another. And Baker being as banged up as he’s been is surely another. Throw in a new OC who’s still learning the ropes, and our offense is gonna struggle, especially against better defenses.
Those are the times that our defense has to rise to the occasion and dominate the opposing offense. Winning 16-13 is just as much of a win as winning 45-7. They both count the same in the Win column.
November 4th, 2025 at 11:22 am
Hmmm … ‘still need a reasonable amount of RUNNING’
November 4th, 2025 at 11:27 am
We are running the ball!!
November 4th, 2025 at 11:29 am
Would like to see Bucs use Otton like the Chiefs use Kelce. Otton seems like he can get separation from LB’s and S. Let’s hit him until teams try to take him away. Otton is a very reliable receiver who needs the ball more while our WR’s are banged up.
November 4th, 2025 at 11:54 am
You don’t go 1 dimensional because they’ve been good against the run, we’ve been good against the run. We’ve also let a couple big plays get us in run defense. Hope Grizzard did some soul search and calling around to whomever he calls a mentor to get whatever he wants this scheme to be. Injuries are a cop out at this point, you make do with what you got and you play YOUR game.
Switch it up, maybe start Tucker and get the run game going that way early. The gap scheme we’ve be relying on running the ball isn’t “bad”, but what has been noticeably obvious is the lack of push and the lack of pulling from our patchwork OL. It’s why this bye was needed, not just for healthy but hopefully for our reserves to dig into the playbook.
Also, for all that talk about the pony package, how’s about putting Rachaad White in the slot. Get Tucker/Williams in the back, and get White some more opportunities to do what he does best as an offensive weapon which is getting the ball in space and making something happen. White & EE2 are pretty much the same stature, and it’d be a wrinkle we’ve yet to show any team to have it on film.
November 4th, 2025 at 11:55 am
“A GUN. BUT NO BULLETS”
Pie in the sky is grossly candy a$$….. Then again, as grim as it looks “In Reality”, it kinda reminds me of Gerald McCoy dancing on the sidelines because HE KNOWS that he might as well dance around for fun because dancing around because we won is…
This particular game is going to come down to how seriously the team is training and a Whole Lot of personal desire. In fact, that’s Every Game going forward without effective offensive weapons.
The cheer leaders DO Realize that the best receiver we have is a rookie, Right…
Shep is second / third string, Tez is a rookie, and right now I can’t remember the name of our other 4th stringer, O and another rookie or a first year guy whom is also 4th/5th string that’s left in the actual receiving depth. THAT’S IT!
TE’s? Otton’s not shabby the goat but let’s be realistic… He’s NOT scaring anybody by himself. He’ll put up a fight at least. Culp? And what has he done? I suppose he’s helped with blocking this year, caught a few last year, dropped a couple this year…
Running backs? Well….. O LINE!
Did I forget some phenom somewhere? I’ve had a long night perhaps I’m missing the “Offensive” silver lining……
And Finally our Offensive shot caller… Do I Really Need To Bring up THAT Reality?
The ONLY WAY we win games going forward EVEN WITH a talent injection is if our brand new OC Somehow turns into Coen and has a DEVASTATINGLY GREAT, dink and dunk, slick as he!! ATTACK FACTOR figured out! And I’m not betting on that happening. We Need A Miracle in order to just stay afloat…. Realistically.., what weapons do we have? You know “IN REALITY”
Again, it REALLY DEPENDS on How Seriously the team is training RIGHT NOW (hot or cold) soft or Hard! And IF Todd Bowles can MAKE THEM BELIEVE IN THE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE! NOW IS THE TIME THAT A “GREAT COACH” RISES ABOVE!
We WILL all see what Todd Bowles is made of BECAUSE without The Bullets for the Gun….. BOWLES HAS TO FIGURE THIS OUT FAST! And if we collapse… I Hope they Run Him Out Of Town Because He’s Not Qualified! SOMEWHERE AND SOMETIME IS NOW For Bowles…
HOW ABOUT IT LICHT! WHERE ARE YOU?
November 4th, 2025 at 11:55 am
Screen passes to RBs, 2TE sets, run reverses to WR. Grizz has to change it up and quit trying to run up the middle and off the OTs so much. Every first down doesn’t need to be a running play. lol. WRs need to get separation and actually catch the ball. Need to use Otton a lot in this game. If Baker is getting adequate protection then put two TEs down the field putting pressure on their secondary.
November 4th, 2025 at 12:10 pm
If Bucky’s out there I am confident the Bucs have a successful running game. I believe the Buccaneers are the best team the Patriots have played this year. If our offense is out of the 2 game slump they were in, I believe the Bucs win a big game at home this week !!
Go Bucs !!
November 4th, 2025 at 12:14 pm
Otton isnt even the 1/4 of the athlete Kelce is lol
but i get what you’re saying lol…
GO BUCS!!!!
November 4th, 2025 at 12:24 pm
DR; agree that we still need to run the ball was just pointing out that they are vulnerable against the pass. My hope is that Baker has had a chance to heal up a little bit. I honestly don’t think Baker looked bad against the Saints after watching the replay. He looked reasonably mobile on a couple roll outs and made a couple nice throws off of those. I think we need to mix it up a little bit and try to be a little more creative running the ball and passing it. I don’t recall seeing very many jet sweeps this year for example or many attempts to run wide with the backs. I’m sure the Pats are very disciplined so we have to keep them guessing.
November 4th, 2025 at 12:37 pm
Will it post or won’t it?
Maybe Amelia Earhart is reading them.
November 4th, 2025 at 1:03 pm
Grizz’ mindless insistence on power runs up the middle on 1st down with questionable center and guard players is insane. We are always playing from behind. No creativity. The opposition knows what is coming and we don’t have superior athletes to overcome them physically. Coen was far superior with the play calling and run scheme. We are back to the simplistic Leftwichesque offense of the past. It looks like Grizz has been reigned in by Bowles’ turtle conservative approach. We need to run the ball without a doubt. How and when you run makes a giant difference in moving the chains. There’s a lot of difference between 3rd and 2 and 3rd and 8.
Barton is playing poorly, neither guard is playing well, Heck is questionable at best and Wirfs is still recovering. Some imaginative scheme is needed to help these guys. They are not able to just overpower the other team. The poor down and distances are now affecting the pass blocking also. Baker is under constant duress. This is a teamwide breakdown due to too many bench players on the field. WRs not getting open, pocket collapsing, no run game and Baker banged up. Hopefully, the bye brings some healed up players and a refreshed offensive scheme.
Go Bucs!!
November 4th, 2025 at 1:14 pm
“”Grizz’ mindless insistence on power runs up the middle on 1st down with questionable center and guard players is insane”
Yes it is. Let’s hope he can come up with a scheme that keeps the D guessing.
November 4th, 2025 at 1:25 pm
Going to be a tough match up.
Our receiver core is dusted by injuries.
Points gotta come from somewhere.
Expect big games from chase,baker,vita,and white