Tomorrow marks the end of the 2019 regular season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it’s been a roller coaster ride to say the least.
The team started off 3-7, including a 1-4 record on their brutal five-game stretch away from Raymond James Stadium, which saw them travel to Los Angeles, New Orleans, London, Tennessee and Seattle.
But, over the past month, Tampa Bay has looked more and more like the team we expected to see under first-year coach Bruce Arians. The young defense, which was atrocious at times in the beginning of the year, is finally starting to come together, while the offense ranks third in the league in scoring.
At 7-8, the Bucs have a chance to finish at .500 with a win tomorrow at home over the Atlanta Falcons. That’s a far cry from the 5-11 record the Bucs have finished with the last two seasons. While the team may not be going to the playoffs this year, there’s a lot to look forward to.
And, while some will argue that the Bucs should try and find another option at quarterback due to Jameis Winston’s 28 interceptions (most in the league), he’s shown enough progress this year that the Bucs are likely bringing him back for one more go.
Plus, Winston was one of the big reasons Arians came out of retirement in the first place, as Sports Illustrated pointed out today.
“When Arians came out of retirement to take the Bucs job, he made it clear that working with Winston was a big part of that decision. At this point in his career, it would be understandable if Arians didn’t want to start over with a new quarterback after just one season with Winston.”
Winston needs just 92 more passing yards to reach 5,000 on the season. He’ll be without his top two receivers, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the pass-happy Bucs QB.
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