The good, the bad and the ugly in Buccaneers' 29-27 win over Jets

The Buccaneers sure aren’t making it easy on themselves. In another game that came down to the wire, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New York Jets 29-27 on a last-second field goal by Chase McLaughlin.

Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield once again had to don the cape in the final minutes of the game to propel the team to victory. After taking a 23-6 lead in the third quarter, Tampa Bay let the Jets score 21 points to pull themselves in front, with their final score coming off a blocked field goal returned for a score. Mayfield led the Bucs offense on a seven-play drive, including two huge explosive passes to put them in field goal position.

While it was entertaining, it wasn’t all good. Penalties, injuries, and miscommunication plagued the Buccaneers on Sunday. But there were plenty of things to build on as well. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Bucs 29-27 win over the Jets.

Good

QB Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield magic strikes again for the Bucs as the quarterback again wills the team to another victory. Mayfield did the best he could given the circumstances around him on Sunday.

Dealing with massive injuries along the offensive line, he had two players making their first NFL starts at both guard spots. Mayfield still hung in there and ended up completing 19 of his 29 attempts for 233 yards and a touchdown. Beyond that, he ran for 44 yards, including a big 33-yard scramble on third down late in the fourth quarter. With the Bucs trailing again in the final minutes of the game, Mayfield stepped up, completing big passes to Emeka Egbuka and Sterling Shepard to put them in field goal range and ultimately secure the win. Mayfield is having an MVP-type season, and the books are 3-0 largely due to him.

Bucs wide receivers

The Buccaneers had their wide receivers step up in a big way on Sunday. Mike Evans scored the first touchdown of the game on a five-yard slant and also drew a big defensive passing interference early in the game on a 3rd & 29 situation. Emeka Egbuka made a crazy one-handed grab on Sauce Gardner that went for 30 yards, and he had a huge 28-yard catch in the fourth quarter on the Buccaneers' last drive of the game.

Meanwhile, Sterling Shepherd was everywhere. He had a big third-down grab on the second drive for 16 yards and followed that up with a 24-yard screen on the next play, setting up Evans' touchdown. He had two 20-yard grabs in the fourth quarter, including one on the final drive to set up the game-winning field goal. With Evans sidelined in the fourth, the Bucs receivers made plays when their number was called, and that was the difference in this game.

Bucs Secondary

Not to be outdone by the Bucs' wide receivers, the secondary played lights out. They allowed just one play of over 20 yards on the day and came up with multiple turnovers that ultimately were the difference in the game.

Jamel Dean was excellent in coverage and had a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown. He also secured another interception later in the game, but a ticky-tacky defensive pass interference call negated it. Antoine Winfield Jr. had the other turnover, screaming into the backfield on a blitz to strip-sack Tyrod Taylor. Zyon McCollum was sticky in coverage and led all defensive backs with nine tackles. Right behind him was Tykee Smith with seven tackles, who also had a big pass breakup on third and goal in the fourth quarter. The rookies showed up, too. Benjamin Morrison had a three-yard tackle for a loss, and some of his playing time, while Jacob Parrish notched five tackles and a 10-yard sack. It was a solid day for the Buccaneers' improved secondary.

Bad

Bucs OL

It’s hard to place too much blame here on the Bucs' offensive line, especially with no one playing in their normal positions. However, it was a rough day in the office. Holding penalties, not getting enough push in the run game and not creating enough space in the pocket for Mayfield to comfortably operate were the themes of the day.

There were times when Baker had time to throw, but credit goes to Josh Grizzard for getting Mayfield on the move and shifting the pocket. There’s a decent chance Tristan Wirfs returns next week, and the hope is Michael Jordan will also be able to return and Dan Feeney can get up to speed, which will go a long way to resolving some of the offensive line issues.

Third down and red zone offense

From one of the best units in football last season to a real struggle fest today, the Bucs were really unable to convert on third down. They went four of 12 on the day on third down conversions and we’re one of five in the red zone. Those numbers just won’t suffice against better competition. The Bucs were lucky to get by the Jets today with such paltry production, and Mayfield said after the game that they need to do a better job of converting when inside the 20.

Now, of course, a big reason the Bucs struggled so much was due to the makeshift offensive line in front of Mayfield, but they need to do a better job at executing, especially with the Eagles coming into town next week.

Ugly

Penalties

Yikes, this was bad.

The Buccaneers had 14 accepted penalties for 124 yards on Sunday against the Jets. Not good. The offensive line was a culprit for most of them, with every player except Charlie Heck receiving at least one penalty. Graham Barton had two — his first a holding call negated a third-down conversion, and the other a false start early in the game. Ben Bredeson himself had a false start in the fourth quarter at center, while Luke Haggard had two holding calls, as did Elijah Klein.

But they weren’t the only ones getting in on the holding calls. Ryan Miller and Mike Evans both got called for holding on the first drive as well. And on the defensive side of the ball, Logan Hall got flagged for a horse collar tackle on the Jets' first drive that ended in points, while Lavante David got called for a defensive pass interference on that first drive for the Jets as well. It was an undisciplined day for the Bucs on both sides of the ball, and they are lucky to overcome it.

Injuries

The Bucs cannot escape the injury bug. On Sunday, injuries reared their ugly head again.

This time it involved taking out Christian Izien and Mike Evans. Logan Hall, Baker Mayfield and Lavonte David were also banged up on the day but managed to complete the game. However, Izien and Evans weren’t so lucky. Izien was ruled out early in the third quarter with an oblique injury while Evans left the game in the middle of the fourth quarter and would not return.

The initial diagnosis for Evans is a hamstring injury, but at the time, there is no clarity on how bad it is. Evans did not go to the sideline and instead immediately walked to the locker room in frustration, knocking over a cooler in the process. Already down Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin (although he could return next week), the Bucs can't afford to lose Mike Evans for an extended period of time.

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