The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have put up points on offense, and according to advanced metrics, that offense is better than the average in the NFL. According to website rbsdm.com, the Bucs are 14th overall in offensive EPA per play after their Week 4 game against the Saints. EPA, or Expected Points Added, is an advanced metric that attempts to measure the prowess of an offense or defense based on an estimation on how many points will be scored on that drive.
As it stands, the Bucs have an EPA of 0.014 on offense. That not only puts Tampa Bay in the top half of the league, but it also is much better than any of its NFC South counterparts. The Bucs offense by EPA is much better than the New Orleans Saints (22nd, -0.096 EPA/play), the Carolina Panthers (25th, -0.130 EPA/play) and the Atlanta Falcons (26th, -0.137). Should that keep up, the Bucs have a strong path to winning the division again.
The offense is particularly impressive when its main weakness in running the ball is eliminated from the equation. The Bucs are sixth in the NFL in dropback EPA, meaning that their passing game by advanced metrics is only worse than the Dallas Cowboys (fifth), the Los Angeles Chargers (fourth), the Buffalo Bills (third), the Miami Dolphins (second) and the San Francisco 49ers (first).
Tampa Bay’s rush EPA remains its biggest weakness, as it is 26th in the NFL in that metric with a -0.195 rush EPA/play.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5]