The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit at 6-2 at the halfway point of the season, as they rest up on their bye week.
It has been a great start of the season to the Bucs, only soured by a couple of losses and of course injuries.
The 6-2 start is the best start in franchise history, despite all the injuries that have hit the team.
Indeed, the Bucs have been with our some big names this season so far.
Tampa Bay started the season off without players such as Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin Jr. Along the way, they also lost some big pieces such as Mike Evans, Cody Mauch, Luke Goedeke, Bucky Irving and Kalijah Kancey.
Evans, Goedeke and Irving are expected back before the end of the season, but we will likely not see Kancey and Mauch until next season.
Mayfield Magic
The Bucs have done extremely well to be 6-2 all things considered, and this is mostly thanks to one man – Baker Mayfield.
Coming off a fantastic season last year, when he threw 40 touchdowns and led the Bucs to a 10-7 record and a fourth consecutive NFC South title, Baker has continued on that path.
Mayfield has been excellent so far this season, with many clutch plays dragging the Bucs over the line.
Mayfield has thrown 13 touchdowns to just two interceptions this season, doing much better to keep the ball out of harm’s way this year.
Although he has looked less good in the last two games, I have no doubt that we have not seen the end of the Mayfield Magic this season.
Only beat the poorer teams
Although Tampa has a 6-2 record, it is the usual case of the Bucs beating poorer teams and losing to good teams.
This is not a sign of a team that has deep playoff aspirations, or that some consider Super Bowl contenders.
Out of the six wins Tampa has, only two were against teams with a winning record.
These were a last-minute win against the Seattle Seahawks, and a relatively close game win against a decimated San Francisco 49ers team.
When Tampa plays top teams, such as the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles, they lose.
If the Bucs want to make a deep playoff run, and even get there in the first place, they will need to show up and get results against top teams.
A tough slate to come
Tampa Bay will have the opportunity to do this with their next three fixtures, when the Bucs face the New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills.
These three are easily three of the top 10 teams in the NFL right now. If the Bucs are even a little bit serious about contending this season, they will need to win at least one or two of these games.
These next three weeks will be crucial for me to see if this team wants to win, or if they are content to just go 10-7 and win the division, without any real Super Bowl aspirations.
Over the past few years, it seems that winning the division has almost become enough to satisfy the Bucs, but we want more.
What is more, with the Carolina Panthers only being two games behind the Bucs, having yet to play them, there is no guarantee the Bucs take the South this year.
