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2022 NFL Power Rankings: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Throughout the 2022 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Below you will find a Week 8 roundup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in our consensus 2022 NFL Power Rankings.

ESPN -- Rank: 17

The Bucs' scoring production has fallen off, going from averaging 31.4 offensive points a game through the first seven weeks last year to 16.71 points a game this year. It's not even just the red zone anymore -- they've been there only 19 times in 77 drives so far this season (24.6%). In the first seven games last year, it was 39 times in 79 drives (44.3%).

NFL.com -- Rank: 18

Everything is going wrong for the Bucs right now. The offense can't score, the defense can't get a stop, and the losses continue to pile up. That's four in five weeks for Tampa Bay after Sunday's stunning 21-3 defeat to a Panthers team that all but announced it was folding up the tent on the season with its Thursday trade of star running back Christian McCaffrey. The symbolic failure of the day belongs to Mike Evans, a franchise cornerstone and perhaps the most consistent producer in team history, who dropped a wide-open touchdown pass on the third play from scrimmage. The frustration only built from there. The lone positive? The NFC South is a total mess: At 3-4, the Bucs somehow maintain possession of a tie for first place.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 14

Tom Brady and the offense aren't in sync right now. The good news is they play in a bad division and can get it turned around.

USA Today -- Rank: 17

It's getting ugly for QB Tom Brady, who was held to three points or fewer for the third time in his three seasons with Tampa Bay. That only happened to TB12 twice in New England.

The Athletic -- Rank: 17

Feels like this space is used to poke fun at Tom Brady every week, so let's give that a rest, even though he and the Bucs certainly deserve it after becoming the first double-digit favorite to lose a game this season. Instead, here's the list of players with more than 100 pass-rush snaps this season who have yet to register a quarterback hit, per TruMedia:
  • Greg Gaines, Rams (175 pass-rush snaps)
  • Angelo Blackson, Bears (128)
  • Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Buccaneers (115)
  • Isaiah Buggs, Lions (115)
  • Chris Wormley, Steelers (105)
  • Tim Settle, Bills (103)

The Ringer -- Rank: 14

The Buccaneers offense is in absolute shambles. After finishing the 2021 regular season third in offensive EPA per drive (0.63), Tampa Bay ranks 23rd in the same statistic in 2022. The team is also tied for just 25th in total points scored (124).

Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is under fire every single week because Tom Brady doesn't look like Tom Brady and the offense just isn't scoring points. But conservative play calling isn't the issue. Leftwich and Brady just can't find consistent success on third downs and in the red zone, and the run game is nonexistent. Tampa Bay ranks 26th in third-down conversion percentage (35.1 percent) and is tied for 27th in touchdown percentage in the red zone (47.4 percent). And no team ranks lower in yards per rush (3.05) and EPA per rush (-0.19).

Yahoo! -- Rank: 18

Oh no. The Steelers loss seemed like rock bottom for the Buccaneers, until they lost to the Panthers. That's two losses in eight days to two of the worst teams in football. The Panthers and Steelers are 2-0 against the Buccaneers and 2-10 against the rest of the NFL. I don't think Tom Brady is washed up. But he looks like an average quarterback. Let's acknowledge it's absolutely incredible that a 45-year-old can be an average QB in the NFL. Nobody has come close to doing that before. However, it's a pretty big adjustment after Brady just missed out on another NFL MVP award last season. They have to learn how to win with Brady not being quite as great as he once was.

PFT -- Rank: 14

They've still got time to figure things out.

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