Offense was never the same.
The Super Bowl happened two Sundays ago. And all the while watching that game, and in the aftermath almost daily, Joe wondered to himself, “What the hell happened?”
In Week 5 the Bucs traveled to Seattle to face the eventual Super Bowl champs. There, the Bucs offense thrashed the mighty Seattle defense. On the road.
And don’t give Joe the knee-jerk reaction to injuries. The Bucs were hobbled that day. Mike Evans was out. Chris Godwin didn’t play the entire game because he was hobbled and had just three catches. There was no Luke Goedeke or Cody Mauch.
The Bucs offense thrashed the Seahawks. Thrashed. The Bucs racked up 426 yards of offense. Had 38 points that afternoon against maybe the best defense in the NFL.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield had 370 yards passing. He never got close to that after that game.
Emeka Egbuka had 163 yards receiving in his homecoming. Only once (loss to New England) did Egbuka have more than 65 yards in a receiving in a game the rest of the season.
Cade Otton averaged 20 yards a catch that day. He never got close to that again.
Rachaad White had 41 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns, half his season rushing touchdown total (four).
What the hell happened?
The Bucs offense was never the same after that day. Again, the Bucs offense was riddled with injuries for that Seattle game, both at the skill positions and on the offensive line. Yet that didn’t slow down the Bucs offense against a fantastic defense.
Yes, the Bucs went on to win a couple of more games before the bye after clobbering Seattle on offense. But it was never the same.
Joe would like to know what the hell happened? Hopefully, as Joe prepares to fly to Indianapolis this morning, Joe learns the answer to that question this week at the combine.
2025 Season Rewind:
In week 5, #Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka became the 1st player in #NFL history to have 25+ catches, 400+ receiving yards, and 5 receiving TDs in his 1st 5 career games. pic.twitter.com/VmV3OtseYa
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) February 18, 2026