The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did enough on offense to lead for the majority of what would prove to be a frustrating 23-19 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week Two, but red zone issues led to the ultimate result. In the early stages of their first season under Offensive Coordinator Zac Robinson, the offense seems just on the verge of breaking out, in the view of quarterback Baker Mayfield.
"[I'm] frustrated because it's close," said Mayfield after Sunday's game. "You can feel it. You can see it. We're moving the ball at times, and then just shooting ourselves in the foot. So, that makes it more frustrating when you know you're right there. Our group is more than capable of handling stuff like this, but we [have to] really be self-critical, look at the tape, get stuff fixed and [we] just can't keep making the same mistakes over and over."
The Buccaneers got into the red zone four times but only came away with one touchdown. They committed six penalties for 62 yards, including multiple offensive holding flags, one on the final sequence near Cleveland's defense. Mayfield connected with Tez Johnson on a 49-yard deep ball in the fourth quarter to set up a go-ahead field goal, but multiple other attempts to make big plays downfield were unsuccessful.
"Yeah, I just [have to] continue to communicate on landmarks and things that we're trying to draw up," said Mayfield of the deep-ball miscues. "[We have to] look at the tape, but it's timing, it's landmark throws and just trusting those guys to be in the right spots and also just putting it on them."
