The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have now played one regular season game with Zac Robinson as their offensive coordinator and, of course, one game does not a trend make. It is entirely possible that Robinson's script for the Buccaneers' second game will look nothing like what the Buccaneers put on tape in a 33-27 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday.
That said, if the Bucs approach to the Bengals game proves to be any sort of template for what's to come, it is instructive to take a look at how it went. And one of the main takeaways in terms of the Buccaneers' offensive design is that it leant heavily on "11" personnel, which meant Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin and Ted Hurst were all on the field for most of the contest.
Of the Buccaneers' 52 offensive snaps in Cincinnati, they were in 11 personnel (three receivers, one running back, one tight end) on 43 of them. They had a success rate of 49.2% on those plays, gained 246 yards and averaged 5.72 yards per play and scored both of their offensive touchdowns. The Bucs also ran five plays in 12 personnel, which includes two tight ends, and another four in 21 personnel, which put both Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell on the field together.
The decision to lean heavily on 11 personnel in Cincinnati could have been complicated by the fact that wide receiver Jalen McMillan was inactive for the game due to a knee injury he sustained about a month ago in a training camp practice. Fortunately, the Buccaneers felt confident in Hurst, the third-round rookie out of Georgia State, after he steadily picked up the offense during camp and the preseason. Hurst was on the field for 43 of the 52 snaps, while Godwin and Egbuka each played 49 snaps. Hurst opened his NFL career with three catches for 36 yards, and while all three came on the same drive in the fourth quarter, Head Coach Todd Bowles said that the rookie handled himself well throughout the game.
"I thought Ted played fast," said Bowles. "He played very fast. He played hard, and when they threw to him, he was open, so they got him the ball. I think he'll be fine. I mean, the coverage dictates the targets, and, you know, the coverage was there [when] the targets didn't go that way, but he played fast the entire game."
Egbuka led the trio with five catches for 63 yards and was the target on each of Baker Mayfield's first three passes of the game. Egbuka's strong start to the season was reassuring after he missed a large chunk of the preseason due to a toe injury. He is trying to build on a strong rookie campaign in which he racked up 938 yards and six touchdowns on a team-leading 63 receptions but was much more productive in the first half of the season than the back half.
"I mean, it's good," said Bowles. He's still working his way back [from the toe injury]. He's missed a lot of time, but obviously coming in and being effective early kind of helped him out going forward. As we get in better shape, going down the line for the guys that haven't practiced too much, I think we'll be a lot better going forward."
Godwin caught four passes for 40 yards and, as always, was a chain-mover for the offense. Two of his four receptions converted third downs, one his signature weaving through traffic on a tunnel screen to get just past the sticks. On the other, he caught a pass about 12 yards down the midfield with safety Jordan Battle breathing down his neck, then spun away from Battle to complete the 30-yard play. It was the Bucs' longest play from scrimmage on the afternoon.
"He played hard and he played fast," Bowles assessed. "He played winning football for us. You know, we lost the game, but certain people had some good performances, but they don't count when you lose."
The Bucs' four lost fumbles in the game were the difference in the outcome, and they also limited the team's baseline offensive output; as Bowles pointed out after the game, except for a one-play kneel-down at the end of the first half, every possession Tampa Bay had ended in either a score or a turnover. In the end the Bucs had 282 yards of offense and Mayfield completed 23 of his 28 passes despite facing a pretty strong pass rush throughout the afternoon. There were some encouraging signs for the Bucs' offense despite the loss, and one of them was the potential of the team's three-receiver attack, even when relying on a rookie as one of those three.
