TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – After back-to-back losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a quick turnaround, hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football.
“We just want to get back on the field,” Bucs Offensive Coordinator Byron Leftwich said. “We don’t like the taste that we left [in our mouths] leaving that field Sunday. Any time you have those games, you just want to get to the next game and prepare. Obviously, you’ve got a tough team coming in here but that’s all you can do. Stuff happens in this league. When it does, you’ve got to take the good with the good [and] the bad with the bad. Focus, lock in, get ready for the next week. That’s our process.”
In this next opportunity to bounce back, a main focus will be finding a way to get points on the board — a storyline that’s been present all season. The Bucs are coming off a season-low three points against Carolina, and are currently 25th in the league, averaging 17.7 points per game.
“We haven’t scored a lot of points,” said Bucs quarterback Tom Brady. “I think we’ve scored like 19 points or something like that a game. It’s not good enough by what we’re trying to accomplish, so however you get it in – run it, throw it – the objective is to score more points than the other team. We just haven’t done a great job of it thus far.”
Part of that is being able to stick to their game plan, execute that game plan and do it from the opening kickoff – as opposed to making early mistakes and playing from behind.
“Playing with leads are great,” Brady said. “That’s obviously what you want to do every week. You’ve got to earn your way to a lead and I think that’s the important part. You don’t start the game up seven-nothing or 14-nothing; you’ve got to go do something about it. So I think we’ve got to focus on what we have to do in order to get the ball down the field and score points. I want to score in every quarter, but you’re right, it’s been tough start to the games and that’s why we’re playing from behind. Sometimes we make it easier on the opponents than we want because they get to do exactly what they want and we don’t.”
As the offensive unit looks to find their rhythm, the Bucs’ defense looks to get their groove back from earlier in the season. They forced eight turnovers in their first three games, but have none in their last three. Their last interception came in the Kansas City Chiefs game and their last fumble recovery was the week prior in the Green Bay Packers game.
“It doesn’t start with lack of pressure,” said Bucs Head Coach Todd Bowles. “It starts with punching the ball out. It starts with making plays on the ball down the field. Pressure helps it, but it has nothing to do with pressure. You’ve got to get turnovers regardless — whether we rush four, five, six or three. And we try to get turnovers. We practice it. We punch the ball out. We show clips of it. And [turnovers] come in bunches so hopefully this will be the end of it and we can get some more.”
Thursday marks the seventh all-time meeting between the Bucs and Ravens, with Baltimore holding the (4-2) series lead. The Ravens have won the last four against the Bucs.
