Monday night was a highly anticipated matchup between the Bucs and Ravens with Tampa Bay returning to town for the first time in three weeks. After leading 10-0, Tampa Bay’s mistakes compounded and led to a sizable 41-31 loss. There was plenty to be disappointed about after watching this one. The Bucs will be looking to improve in these aspects before its Creamsicle week when they take on the Falcons.
HC Todd Bowles
The extra day of planning did nothing for head coach Todd Bowles and the rest of the team on Monday night.
In particular, Bowles had no defensive answers for containing Lamar Jackson or Derrick Henry. There was plenty of concern about containing the star duo coming into Monday night, but between Jackson’s elusiveness and Henry’s brute force, stopping them was a challenge the Bucs’ defense had little answer for, and that falls back on Bowles.
Yes, there were missed tackles. The defense did not do themselves any favors in that regard. But in terms of overall defensive game planning, there were plenty of missed assignments and guys left wide-open. Jackson did whatever he wanted to through the air and on the ground with little resistance.
On the ground, Jackson and Henry combined for 24 carries and 221 rushing yards, led by Henry’s 15 carries for 169 rushing yards. If that was not enough, Jackson had no problem dropping back and connecting with whoever he wanted to, completing 17 of his 22 passes for 281 passing yards and five touchdowns…