Time To Quit Talking About Touchdowns And Instead Score Touchdowns
October 16th, 2026
The thrill of field goals.
Touchdowns win games. Field goals keep opponents in games.
Way too often, the Bucs love to kick 40-yard-plus field goals to feel good about themselves because their offense was (sort of) productive.
And pretty soon your 6-0 lead is a 14-6 deficit. Anyone remember the debacle against the Browns?
The Bucs are poor at scoring touchdowns; that’s all there is to it. But the Bucs broke out last week in beating Dallas, they scored three (!) touchdowns. Was that a fluke?
Based on the fact the Cowboys have a truly wretched defense and reading data from Rich Hribar of Sharp Football Analysis, that three-touchdown scoring explosion just might be a one-off. The Bucs, Hribar types, seem to covet field goals more than the vast majority of teams.
* 47.4% of Tampa Bay’s scoring plays have been touchdowns (30th).
* Tampa Bay is averaging 1.69 points per drive (28th).
Here’s the problem: Those stats Hribar listed season-long stats, meaning those numbers include the three games that the $165 Million Dollar Man, quarterback Baker Mayfield, started.
And the Bucs enter Sunday’s game against the mighty Steelers with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels in his third career start.
KitKat-eating Bucs coach Todd Bowles said this week the Bucs want to win running the ball. You don’t score many touchdowns leaning on a ground attack. (Yes, Joe knows how Buffalo and New England had top-5 offenses last year.)
Unfortunately, it’s probably smart to lean on the run game Sunday. Joe doesn’t think it’s wise to have Daniels put the ball in the air 30 times.
So expect the Bucs to once again use field goals as a weapon. And we all know what happens when you trade touchdowns for field goals.
October 16th, 2026 at 6:54 am
I canāt wait for his mug to be gone!
The worst chapter in Buccaneer history!
Not near the potential of the players talent
That is 1,000 % coaching!
Rudderless ship !
October 16th, 2026 at 7:02 am
looks like the only two players out for the game will be Mayfield and Winfield – both captains and leaders – weāll see how āindispensableā they are – four games until the bye – have to go 2-2 for any hope – Bowles and Licht will be back next year regardless – the MO of the Glazers is to have a mediocre / bad team for decades then bring in a āsaviorā for a year or two (Gruden 2002 Brady 2020) to keep the peasants happy – then back to business as usual – the Glazers are thrilled to see Terrible Towels in the stands because at least seats are being sold – Bucs =!Washington Generals
October 16th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Was listening to a podcast yesterday, had an interesting stat—In games where Baker throws more than 34 times, Bucs win 23%
October 16th, 2026 at 7:54 am
Harbaugh might be available soon!
October 16th, 2026 at 7:58 am
Joe said, “You donāt score many touchdowns leaning on a ground attack.”
Leaning on a ground attack is exactly how you score touchdowns – if by “leaning on a ground attack” you mean that the ground game dominates in order to:
– create opportunities to create genuine RPO opportunities
– allow quick hitting passes where the receiver uses his release to put his body in position to make a protected reception
– allow for disciplined pass plays where the QB takes two seconds flat to see if anyone has gained an advantage coming out of the bunch or coming out of their isolated release or by there break downfield from their in motion release – and then taking a shot at the receiver who has gained an advantage or immediately checking down to a “glorified pitchout” to a running back.
Leaning on the ground game – this way – chips, chips, chips away until some receiver somewhere gains an advantage in those first two seconds – and then it is Mr. Big Shot like the pass down the field to Tez Johnson against the Cowboys!
Persistence. Discipline. And, when the Opportunity is there On Time in Two Seconds, the Kill Shot! Bam!!!
No holding the ball forever until heroic urges turn a field goal into a punt!
And, definitely no play calls where the only option is to hold the ball hoping that some route somewhere will someday come open downfield!
Make the defense come up into the box to stop the run and stop the RPO and stop the quick hitting body protected reception until there is a break anywhere and then it is off to the races with one man to beat deep! That is the way itty bitty TDs are born!
It is also the way that you rack up time of possession, keep your defense fresh, and keep your defense generating three and outs that give you more chances to chip, chip, chip away until …!!!
October 16th, 2026 at 7:59 am
SBLV, I agree with you, all except worst chapter in history. But everything else you said was absolutely correct. I would say the worst part about this chapter is how much talent weāve wasted in general over the last 10 years. Such a waste of talent. IF we have anything to blame Licht on (other than drafting a kicker in the first round) its not demanding Bowles be fired to get the best out of the teams heās put together.
October 16th, 2026 at 8:00 am
Two-Pancakes is trying to tell Joe about football. That wonāt end well.
October 16th, 2026 at 8:01 am
Unless he wins the south, at least 10 games AND wins in the post season, hell no. Bucs head coaches have been fired for less.
If the Bucs have a train wreck of a season and keep this clown “because the defense was good”, I give up.
After 8 years as a HC , he is what his record says he is – a sub .500 coach whose ceiling is mediocre. He is not, never has, and never will be a championship caliber head coach.
October 16th, 2026 at 8:02 am
I miss Coen’s West Coast Offense – quick, safe throws that move the chains. Fewer sacks, no need for the OL to hold, fewer picks, win TOP minutes. Z-Rob needs to get the ball to Godwin like Coen did.
October 16th, 2026 at 8:13 am
Someone wasnāt around for a lot of the Bucs history. The Lemen Bennett years were probably the roughest mid 80s IMO. Out of coaching altogether for two years, Bennett had been selling recreational vehicles in Atlanta when Culverhouse came calling. One year removed of being 3x NFCS champs is not bad times.
October 16th, 2026 at 8:25 am
Rod and Stang
I walked into the very first preseason game on a whim
I was a season ticket holder for 0-26
I have seen 250+- games live
I say it is the worst chapter because the talent far exceeds the results at the end of the 4th quarter
The owners and Jason are at the controls of this torturous slow motion TRAIN WRECK!
There is losing
and then there is underperforming
This slide should have been addressed at the end of the 2024 season
October 16th, 2026 at 8:41 am
Hard to score TDās when O line is a sieve. Need more quick slants to Godwin.
October 16th, 2026 at 8:42 am
Time to go?Hire Mike Tomlin!
October 16th, 2026 at 9:09 am
@ birdie
“Mike Tomlin”
No thank you…
Look at Tomlin’s record after Big Ben retired.
Season #1 – Missed play-offs (9-8)
Season #2 – Lost wild card game (10-7)
Season #3 – Lost wild card game (10-7)
Season #4 – Lost wild card game (10-7)
Then he resigned.
Why not just keep Todd Bowles if this is what you desire?
October 16th, 2026 at 9:15 am
Go young and modern offensive minded coach
Itās a offensive league
Yeah you still need excellent defense
But the rules of the NFL are bending over backwards for the ping ball scoreboard popping with bells and whistles
Dungy at least had it half right and there is NO COMPARISON between Tony and Todd as NFL head-coaches
October 16th, 2026 at 9:17 am
We could have had Todd Monken, sigh. The ticket is to have a HC who is ALSO the OC. That way you don’t lose your OC every year
October 16th, 2026 at 9:28 am
The outlook this Sunday against the Steelers is not favorable for the Bucs. An undrafted rookie quarterback with two starts under his belt is formula for another lose for the Bucs.
I’m hoping the Bucs prove me wrong.
October 16th, 2026 at 9:37 am
“Beeej Says:
October 16th, 2026 at 7:28 am
Was listening to a podcast yesterday, had an interesting statāIn games where Baker throws more than 34 times, Bucs win 23%”
Our record in games he’s thrown >34 times:
2023: 2-5
2024: 2-3
2025: 1-4
5-12 so about 29% win pct in those games
4-11 regular season and 1-1 in the ’23 postseason.
11 of those 17 games he passed >35 times were instances he passed 40/more times and we are 1-10 in those games, while he accounted for 13 turnovers in those 11 game. The only game won was the New Orleans game in 2024.
From an article Joe wrote on this subject in July of ’23:
“Joe brings this up because of Baker Mayfieldās record in games in which he throws the ball 35 or more times.
Mayfield has a 6-19 record (.316 winning percentage) when he attempts 35 or more passes. Deeper inside those numbers is Mayfieldās 1-8 (.125) record when the pass-attempt tally hits 40 or more.
For perspective, during the Bucs career of Mr. Interception, Jameis Winston, he had a record of 11-30 (.367) when attempting 35 or more passes. Josh Freeman wasnāt much better during his pewter years as a starting quarterback. He was 6-15 (.400) when throwing 35 or more passes in a game.”
October 16th, 2026 at 9:48 am
@ Allen
Unfortunately – the Steelers will not allow 241 yards rushing on Sunday.
They have allowed an avg of 103 yds per game (13th in the NFL).
They will force JD to throw the ball…
I hope to see a bunch of play-action rollouts/bootlegs maybe get Hurst or EE open deep once or twice.
The over/under is @ 40 pts and I would take the under.
October 16th, 2026 at 9:52 am
Hopefully our defense is so good this year that another team “snaps up” our DC at the end of the season!
October 16th, 2026 at 9:54 am
Bowles is the master of deception. Talk about touchdowns, then kick lots of field goals. 2FGs is 6 points, same as a touchdown. Bucs arenāt kicking enough FGs.
October 16th, 2026 at 9:59 am
ā Why not just keep Todd Bowles if this is what you desire?ā
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Exactly. No thank you for Tomlin.
ā We could have had Todd Monken, sigh.ā
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
@Beeej Monkin is doing better than I expected. But we want better than Monkin.
October 16th, 2026 at 10:00 am
todd doesnt want the uprights to feel neglected.
additionally, he feels that why bother going all that way just to try to get 7 points when you can get three points from the 40? this way the opposing defense doesnt get uncomfortable trying to stop the bucs.
everyone wins, sort of.
October 16th, 2026 at 10:05 am
@Marine, it’s nice to see we agree on certain things. PLEASE keep Tomlin away from here.
@Rod, not just Harbaugh, but a small (probably very small) chance MFL from Green Bay as well.
But my choice would be a young play caller, from either Jax or Baltimore
Of course, if we go on a run and win the division…….. LOL. It’s a Bucs life
October 16th, 2026 at 10:14 am
Bunch of check cashers
And they are BIG checks!
The game has gone SOFT
October 16th, 2026 at 10:27 am
Defensive struggle this wk for sure.The 3 pointer will win the game Sunday!
Marine! You correct about Tomlin and Big Ben ,however those 4 out of 5 playoff seasons your advertising with Pittsburgh was Defense and field goals …
October 16th, 2026 at 11:21 am
Steelers have a very good run D as do the Bucs. This means Zac might run the ball into a brick wall all day and put #10 in bad third downs.
A lot of things go into scoring touchdowns, but dont ask this āCoachā because he doesnt know. One thing is in-game management. And thats where Bowles and Zac really blow dog. Bowles costs his team points every year because he cant read a clock or adjust a game plan
October 16th, 2026 at 11:21 am
@ Steve V
If you could clone TB13 or Big Ben and combine them with either Bowles or Tomlin you would have a solid win %…
Remember when Dungy met P. Manning?
It can work but you need the right QB and Baker ain’t it.
October 16th, 2026 at 11:24 am
Ok I’m not a Todd Bowles fan but anyone saying “this is the worst chapter in Bucs history” is either a young kid or someone who started following the Bucs after 1998.
I live through the 80s and early 90s Bucs. Those years were by far worse than anything we’ve seen in the last 3 years.
Bunch of spoiled Bucs fans around this joint.
Try sitting on the bleacher seats at the Old Sombrero in 100 heat watching a team get beat every week by 20 plus points and losing double digit games for over a decade straight.
This “chapter” is frustrating to be sure, but not even close to the worse.
October 16th, 2026 at 11:24 am
Unless we miraculously win the division and a playoff game, Iād much prefer a younger offensive minded HC and a DC that runs a 4-3 mostly. Tired of Bowles overly complicated defensive scheme that can work very well if every single player does their job perfectly. Too many blow assignments in the past with secondary players staring at each other wondering who blew it. And then there is the unfortunate new OC every year. Canāt continue down this road.
Now – letās dial it all in and go win the division, playoff games and the SB! One can dream.
October 16th, 2026 at 11:29 am
Who is TB13? Tom Brady-Evans throws the ball to himself for touchdowns?