Bucs had a great game plan. So why did they abandon it?

TAMPA – Cheer up, all is not lost.

Even without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Bucs have a path forward on offense.

Run the ball, throw a swing pass, run it again, throw a screen pass, run it a few more times. The Bucs held the ball for more than 16 of the first 19 minutes, had 29 plays, threw just two passes to wideouts and still led the Falcons by a touchdown.

The only problem is that they lost their way at some point in the second quarter.

And then they lost their damn minds.

You can imagine what happened next.

The Bucs lost an important, decisive game against the Falcons 31:26.

“It’s once again a matter of not shooting ourselves in the foot in critical situations,” said quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The Bucs and offensive coordinator Liam Coen went from a ball-control game plan that revolved around running backs and tight end Cade Otton to whipping it downfield to a series of receivers no one had ever heard of. After three drives, Bucky Irving had seven carries for 41 yards. He got two more attempts to carry it for the rest of the day. Otton was the target of seven of Mayfield's first 14 passes. He was only targeted on three of the next 36.

You may hear talk that the Bucs were forced to adjust their schedule because they needed to catch up.

That's simply not true.

It was 14:14 midway through the second quarter when the game plan changed abruptly. After the Bucs ran the ball in 15 of the first 29 games, they only did so seven in the next 43.

This is, in a word, crazy.

Especially for a team that A) is missing its two best receivers, B) needs to control the clock and keep its porous defense off the field, and C) is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, which is the best performance in the 49-year history of the represents a franchise.

“I can’t remember what the score was at that point, but yeah, the running game worked. “It worked well at the beginning,” said left tackle Tristan Wirfs. “We just have to give Liam the confidence to keep calling. That’s up to us, the O-line. We did our best to move the thing. If (Evans and Godwin) are out, that’s what we have to do.”

Look, this team is flawed. Without blitzes, the defense doesn't get enough pass rush, the linebackers can't cover anyone, and Mayfield is limited as a downfield passer. But despite all of these problems, the Bucs are averaging 29.4 points per game to start the season.

In the Super Bowl era, there were only 53 teams that averaged that many points in an entire season. And 52 of those teams finished with a winning record.

But here the Bucs are 4-4, and the undefeated Chiefs meet on Monday evening.

“I thought (the offense) struggled. They did some good things,” head coach Todd Bowles said. “They had a lot of possession and made some plays. You don’t like the false starts, but overall these guys fought hard – 26 points should be enough.”

This is not the same “chuck-it-downfield” offense that the Bucs have had in recent seasons. The offensive line has gotten much better at run blocking, Irving has been a revelation in the backfield, and Coen has brought a new, effective plan for running the ball.

Considering opponents have averaged 33.8 points against the Bucs over the last four games, Tampa Bay's most effective strategy is to keep the defense off the field. That means more drives like the 15-play, 70-yard drive in the first quarter and the 12-play, 97-yard drive in the second quarter. Those two drives alone ate up more than 15 minutes of game time and left the Falcons waiting on the sidelines. And the Bucs did so by running the ball effectively.

“Step 1: It’s always important to win the battle (time of possession),” guard Cody Mauch said. “We had the minutes, that’s huge. We simply lost a few too many balls. We got a few people out, so the margin of error is really low right now.”

Here's a thought the Bucs may have to live with for a long time:

It's entirely possible that they're a better team than Atlanta, and yet they've lost twice to the Falcons in less than a month and could end up losing the NFC South because of that.

“We went through something similar last year and lost five out of six,” Wirfs said. “Now you can hold on or march forward. We still have a lot of football to go, we're maybe just halfway there, so there's still a long way to go.

“It burns. It sucks. But you have to move forward.”

John Romano can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @romano_tbtimes.

• • •

Sign up for the Sports Today newsletter for daily coverage of the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.

Never miss the latest on your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on Instagram, X and Facebook.