Dan Orlovsky Says Buccaneers' Panic Meter Is Incredibly High After 0-2 Start

Unsurprisingly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' disastrous start to the 2026 campaign has caught the attention of national media analysts.

Heading into this season, the Buccaneers were not only the favorites to win the NFC South, but there was plenty of belief that the team was talented and experienced enough to potentially compete amongst the best teams in the NFC.

At least so far, that prediction could not look worse.

On recent appearances on both the Pat McAfee Show and his own show, NFL Live, ESPN Analyst and former NFL quarterback, Dan Orlovsky had some pointed criticism of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dan Orlovsky Rips Buccaneers' Defense

On NFL Live, Orlovsky dug into the tape from the Buccaneers embarrassing defeat to Cleveland in Week 2, and let's just say, he did not like what he saw. Orlovsky was disappointed in the lack of adjustements the Bucs made coming off a Week 1 loss to the Bengals, where they looked even worse the following week vs. what should be an inferior opponent.

"Here's my concern with Tampa after Week 2," Orlovsky said. "We saw defenses in Week 1 blow coverages. Carolina was up there, Dallas was up there, they fixed it going into Week 2. We saw teams tackle poorly in Week 1, Denver, they tackled better Week 2. Tampa hasn't fixed either."

Orlovsky showed a number of clips of the Buccaneers' defense, while emphasizing just how soft Todd Bowles' zone defense has been defending the pass, and how easy it was for the Browns, led by a QB who hasn't had success in many years in Deshaun Watson, to pick them apart.

"So this is some of that zone distribution, Cleveland's got 3 guys outside, Tampa's got 1? This isn't hard for an offense."

He then focused on the 55-yard TD reception by Denzel Boston where the rookie receiver evaded three different Buccaneers to prance into the endzone untouched to tie the game at a crucial point.

"This is the Boston touchdown. Just count the missed tackles" Orlovsky emphasized. "That's not poor coverage, that's a good throw, but the fact that you've got three good defenders there, and all three of them don't get a rookie? Now, big rookie, but rookie. And that's just one clip folks, I could've given you four different ones."

"These are basic things that they're consistently messing up" he concluded.

This is inexcusable in Tampa.#nfllive pic.twitter.com/MePLLBk8XQ
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 22, 2026

The Panic Meter is "Incredibly High" For The Bucs

Orlovsky also had some choice words regarding just how bad it's gotten for the Buccaneers under Todd Bowles this season in an appearance on the Pat McAfee show. When asked how high the panic meter is for the Bucs right now, Orlovsky had the following response.

"Incredibly high" Orlovsky stated. " I"m going to read you my defensive notes from the Bucs tape just real quick. Bad zone defense. Bad zone defense. Bad pressure distribution. Too soft in coverage. Poor tackling. Poor tackling. Poor tackling. Poor tackling. Poor Tackling. Blown coverage. Defensively, the breakdowns in the second half, specifically, were just so significant.”

"The panic meter on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is incredibly high..

The breakdowns in the second half on defense we're so significant..

They called seven screens on offense yesterday and none of them worked" ~ @danorlovsky7 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/lYvAjdqCRR
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 21, 2026

The fans in Tampa Bay are already well aware of just how quickly things have gone bad for their team this season.

The fact that a national media analyst like Dan Orlovsky is doing rounds to highlight how poorly the Bucs have played speaks to just how disappointing of a debut it's been for Bowles and the Buccaneers.

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