{"id":392533,"date":"2025-09-24T06:00:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/392533\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T06:00:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T06:00:17","slug":"is-special-teams-coverage-unit-a-underlying-problem-for-the-buccaneers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/392533\/","title":{"rendered":"Is special teams coverage unit a underlying problem for the Buccaneers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> are off to a 3\u20130 start, but it hasn\u2019t been without turbulence, and much of it is coming from an increasingly unreliable special teams unit.<\/p>\n

For the second straight week, a critical mistake in the third phase of the game nearly cost Tampa Bay a win. After surrendering a blocked punt in Week 2, the Buccaneers gave up a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in Sunday\u2019s 29\u201327 win over the New York Jets. The special teams breakdown allowed New York back into the game and nearly flipped the outcome.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Protection issues are becoming a recurring concern. The right edge of the line collapsed on the blocked field goal, allowing a free rusher to get his hand on the ball and spark the Jets’ comeback. These aren\u2019t isolated incidents as opposing teams are clearly identifying soft spots in Tampa\u2019s kick protection, and it\u2019s paying off for them.<\/p>\n

Injuries may be playing a role. With Tristan Wirfs, Cody Mauch, and Luke Goedeke sidelined, the Bucs are relying on backup linemen and tight ends to handle key special teams roles, and the technique simply hasn\u2019t held up. Add in communication breakdowns and slower execution, and it\u2019s easy to see why Tampa Bay is struggling to protect its kickers.<\/p>\n

Kick and punt coverage has also been inconsistent. Missed tackles, poor lane discipline, and lackluster urgency have given returners too much space to operate, leading to field position issues that could become costly in tighter games.<\/p>\n

The Bucs have the talent to contend in the NFC, but if special teams continue to bleed momentum and surrender points, this 3\u20130 start may not last. Tampa Bay\u2019s special teams aren\u2019t just making mistakes; they\u2019re making game-altering ones.<\/p>\n

And if it continues, it\u2019s only a matter of time before it costs them a win.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Is special teams coverage unit a underlying problem for the Bucs?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to a 3\u20130 start, but it hasn\u2019t been without turbulence, and much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2077],"tags":[68230,211,31184,7,21661,1917,255,6,2948,704,250,2597,2596,13221],"class_list":{"0":"post-392533","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-buccaneers","8":"tag-blocked-field-goal","9":"tag-buccaneers","10":"tag-cody-mauch","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-luke-goedeke","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-jets","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-special-teams","17":"tag-tampa-bay","18":"tag-tampa-bay-buccaneers","19":"tag-tampabay","20":"tag-tampabaybuccaneers","21":"tag-tristan-wirfs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115257752209372641","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}