Bucs Get An A+ Grade
October 28th, 2026
For Joe, an A+ grade is when everything is on point.
But everything was not on point on Sunday when the Bucs curb-stomped the Stinking Panthers. Well, only one element was not on point. Otherwise, the Bucs dominated like they have in very few games.
The only area the Bucs were not excellent was throwing the ball. They didn’t need to be.
Baker Mayfield threw for only 64 yards. The rest of the team simply slapped the snot out of the Stinking Panthers.
It was so impressive that John Breech of CBS Sports gave the Bucs an A+ grade.
The Buccaneers realized early in the game that they could run on the Panthers, so they pounded the rock all day. From Bucky Irving (106 yards) to Kenneth Gainwell (88 yards) to Sean Tucker (52), the Bucs absolutely steamrolled the Panthers on the ground to the tune of 258 yards, the team’s second-highest rushing total over the past 10 years. Defensively, the Bucs have been quietly playing good football all year, and that continued here. YaYa Diaby terrorized Bryce Young on a day when he racked up three of Tampa’s five sacks. There was also a TD by Calijah Kancey, who returned a fumble for a score. This was a statement win by the Bucs, and the statement is that they are still very much alive in the NFC South race.
Yes, Joe agrees: The statement is that the Bucs’ are not toast for 2026 yet.
Now the Bucs have to take care of business at home. Against the dreaded Dixie Chicks. Time to take out some frustrations and get revenge over third-and-28.
If the Bucs win this coming Sunday, that will be three wins in four games. At that point, it might be fair to say the Bucs have turned the corner.
October 28th, 2026 at 12:16 am
running game – check
special teams – check
defense – check
passing game – unknown
ATL is a must-win
October 28th, 2026 at 12:28 am
Good things happen when you take the ball out of Baker’s hands.
October 28th, 2026 at 12:54 am
I know this is a football website, but I bet there’s some dual sport- baseball and football- fans here. I sure like baseball, especially October baseball! Go Rays!
October 28th, 2026 at 12:57 am
Go Rays!
October 28th, 2026 at 1:04 am
Munchesinthedarkofnight. But it had to go through Mayfields hands first, right?
October 28th, 2026 at 1:19 am
Munchy that made me laugh. Our weak links seem to be qb and hc. Rest of the team has to pick up the slack as they did last week. Atl is this weeks test. Go Bucs
October 28th, 2026 at 2:21 am
Crying about not passing when you are running the ball down the other teams throat is just stupid
October 28th, 2026 at 2:48 am
well…we have won 2 of the last 3…
can we make it 3 of 4 and snag a first home win…?
we might be changing the storyline…a win sunday def changes the storyline…
this defense seems pretty damn good…
the running game looks good too…
like since when is our weak link the passing game…?