With a strong finish to the 2016 season and a prolific young quarterback, the Buccaneers further raised expectations for the 2017 season with a free agency shopping spree, adding wide receiver DeSean Jackson, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, cornerback Robert McClain and defensive tackle Chris Baker. The team was then profiled on HBO's "Hard Knocks" series during training camp. The Buccaneers were due to start the regular season in Miami but Hurricane Irma forced that game to be postponed to what was originally the bye week for both teams in mid-November. As such, the Bucs were forced to play 16 straight games without a break, which may have contributed to a pair of five-game losing streaks. Winston and Fitzpatrick – the latter of whom started three midseason games, two of them wins, while the young starter dealt with a shoulder injury – combined to throw for 4,607 yards and 26 touchdowns but a committee-based rushing attack averaged only 3.7 yards per carry. The bigger problem was a defense that created the fewest sacks in the NFL and ended up ranked last in total yards and passing yards allowed. After four losses by a combined 13 points in December, the Bucs closed the season with a dramatic last-second victory over New Orleans on rookie wideout Chris Godwin's first career touchdown catch, running their final record to 5-11.
