Look, I’m going to do my best to be as fair as possible. Because, to be blunt, the Bucs as a whole really blow right now. They’re a new GM, a new roster, a new head coach, a new quarterback, and probably a new owner away from being a good NFL team.
For those blissfully unaware, the Bucs have begun the season 0-2. Their most recent loss came at the hands of the lowly Cleveland Browns, giving their infamous QB Deshaun Watson his first victory of the season.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield had four turnovers over those first two games, and has been one of the least productive QBs in football over that time period.
Only recently benched third-string Atlanta Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush and 500-year-old Aaron Rodgers have been worse, according to expected points added (or according to any human beings with eyeballs and a brain).
The poor performance can be explained away with the usual excuses: the offensive line hasn’t been good, it’s early, Mayfield is dealing with yet another offensive coordinator who may or may not be competent.
But the whole “excuses are like…” well, you know the rest.
If this was just a disappointing start, that’d be one thing. But the Bucs finished on an incredibly sour note last year, and Mayfield was a huge part of that. His EPA fell to -0.09 over the final nine games, and he threw nine picks over that time period to boot. He was a significant reason why, despite a strong 5-1 start, the Bucs missed the playoffs for the first time with Mayfield under center.
There’s also that massive three-year, $165 million extension he signed in the offseason after complaining that he wasn’t being treated like a “franchise quarterback” in negotiations. Add in the ridiculously awful looking quote “It’s only going to get worse from here” that can be made into memes and it’s quite the gumbo of unfortunate circumstances ripe for overreactions.
But it’s not a hot take to say he has just flat out sucked. He’s sucked for a while now.
It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen any semblance of “good Baker,” and his underdog, chip-on-the-shoulder bit crossed the line of being unbearably obnoxious with his little tantrums about not getting $55 million a year to get outplayed by Quinn Ewers and Deshaun Watson—who got the Browns to give him a five-year, $230 million contact in 2022—over a span of four games going back to last year.
And again, you can put context behind these performances. Mayfield was banged up last year, as was the offensive line and wide receiver room. The rest of the team has also lacked talent and spunk for a while now.
But I just don’t have it in me to care about the excuses for Mayfield. It’s the fucking Browns for goodness sake. Deshaun Watson is keeping his job, because the Bucs’ defense is just as bad as Baker. But Baker’s the QB that was fumbling into the end zone in Week 1 and overthrowing a wide open Emeka Egbuka for a potential game-winning touchdown in Week 2.
You get $55 million a year after belly-aching, this is what the standard is, fair or not.
And I am trying to be fair, because it’s only Week 3, the Bucs are in the worst division in football, etc. There’s a world (however unlikely) where the Bucs do “shock people,” as Baker put it, and still sneak into the playoffs.
But got damn it – losing to the Browns sure makes it hard to not to beat a dead horse.
Regardless, there’s a whole season of football ahead of the Bucs, so things could get ugly, especially in this upcoming matchup.
The Bucs have the pesky Minnesota Vikings coming to town next Sunday.
The Vikings have had their own QB turmoil to begin the year, with presumed starter Kyler Murray going down in Week 1 with a concussion. Reports indicate he’s trending towards returning, and while the Vikings are technically 2-0, backup Carson Wentz didn’t exactly light the world on fire in their 9-3 victory over the Bears in Week 2. It’s expected that if Murray is cleared, he’ll be starting.
What the Vikings do really well is what causes concern for the Bucs. Their defensive coordinator (and popular-amongst-fans Todd Bowles replacement) Brian Flores is a mad man schematically, creating blitzes out of thin air that drive opposing quarterbacks crazy.
They were top-5 in the league in sacks in both 2024 and 2025. The even more unfortunate part of it is how they do it; he employs a lot of double-mug looks where two linebackers line up over the A-gaps, wrecking havoc for interior offensive linemen. Guess what position group has also been atrocious for the Bucs to start the season?
All of that to say, without even touching the Bucs’ middling defense potentially getting torn to shreds by star wideout Justin Jefferson and solid tight end T.J Hockenson, 0-3 is not only a possibility but frankly a likely outcome for this team.
Will this be enough for the Bucs to ignite some significant changes, such as firing Bowles or benching Baker? Who knows, but even if it’s a brutal season to watch, it’ll at least be funny.
It’s been more of a Bucs life than it has been in quite some time.
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This article appears in Sept. 17 – 23, 2026.