By A to Z Sports,Evan Winter

Copyright yardbarker

Everyone assumed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense was going to be the team’s backbone during the 2025 season and with good reason since the unit returned all 11 starters from last year and kept the continuity on offense with Josh Grizzard.Flash forward two weeks into the regular season and while the offense has had some bright moments, it’s been the defense that’s pulled most of the weight. Todd Bowles’ group looks really, really good through two games while Baker Mayfield and Co. have struggled to find consistency. Mayfield knows that and he’s not afraid to own up to it, too.

“(We have a) ton of room to grow, and we haven’t played not even close to good,” Mayfield told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “We’ve had some good plays here and there… [We] scored when we needed to [and] wins, we’ll always take those but yeah, offensively, we just need to be more consistent. “That’s what we try and say is the standard around here – we have to be able to be explosive [and] score a lot of points, and consistency is the main thing.”

Analytics do have the Bucs offense in a good spot, though. Per Next Gen Stats, the Bucs offense is eighth in EPA/play and it’s tied for the fourth-most touchdowns through the first two games. Points have been hard to come by, though, where the Bucs are currently tied for 18th at 21.5 per game.

Bucs offense may not be up to speed yet, but it’s shown tremendous grit and resiliency over the first two weeks

Mayfield’s right – the Bucs offense needs to get better. While they won’t make excuses, it’s not all on the offense. The unit is dealing with some key injuries right now and just added another in right tackle Luke Goedeke’s foot injury. The Falcons and Texans defenses are pretty damn good, as well. It makes sense that the Bucs offense would experience some ups and downs in the first two weeks. It’s continued to fight and push, however, and that kind of perseverance will come in handy later in the year when different injuries undoubtedly crop up.”[It’s a] mentally tough group,” said Mayfield. “Guys being on the same page in chaotic moments – being able to do the little details right… That’s good to see, from the practice field to the game field, guys just executing… “… We’re always in the fight. Anytime we step on the field, we expect to win, we expect to play well and do our job at high level. It’s just the mentality.”

The Bucs should get healthier on offense, but this is the game of football we’re talking about. There’s no guarantee when it comes to that. Still, as they sprinkle Wirfs, Godwin, McMillan, and Goedeke back into the mix we should start to see more of what was expected coming into the season.And with the mindset and heart they’ve already shown through two weeks, that’s a scary thought for the other 31 defenses in the NFL.