The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a chance to clinch a fourth straight victory this season, but they squandered it after committing 11 offensive penalties that cost them 109 yards in their 20-19 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday Night Football. In that game, veteran quarterback Tom Brady was seen shouting at his teammates after a crucial drive was stalled by poor pass protection and penalties. During a post-game interview, Brady lamented about the team’s penalties, saying they stop drives. The veteran signal-caller added that the team has a lot of work to do to correct these mistakes.
The loss dropped the Buccaneers to a 3-2 record, good for a tie with the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints for the NFC South lead. The Buccaneers would have to go through the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Sunday to get back on the winning track.
Johnson says Buccaneers a sloppy team
Earlier, Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on Fox Sports defended Brady, saying he should not be blamed for the loss to the Bears. Cowherd said poor pass protection and a bunch of penalties doomed the Buccaneers’ chances of winning over the Bears. Hall of Fame head coach and current Fox Sports football analyst Jimmy Johnson also expressed the same sentiment during an interview with Cowherd.
Johnson said he expects Tampa Bay to be better than what they are playing right now, but they are a sloppy, sloppy football team. Before Brady joined the team in the offseason, Johnson said he described the Buccaneers as a “most exciting bad team in the league” as they led the league in offense but they were horrible with plenty of turnovers and mistakes.
Johnson understands Brady’s frustrations
Johnson said Brady's arrival has elevated the Buccaneers and they are much better now, but they remain as a sloppy football team with too many negative plays. Johnson said he also understands Brady’s frustration when he barked at teammates on the sidelines after several failed drives.
The veteran head coach believes the Buccaneers are a talented team and could win against anybody if things fall right for them. “But because they are a sloppy team, they’re not gonna have the consistency of a champion,” said Johnson. Until they get that consistency, Johnson said he’s gonna be concerned with the Buccaneers.
Experts see close fight between Bucs, Packers
The Packers are a one-point favorite over the Buccaneers, but BetMGM said the game could go either way with the close betting odds. Many experts are also divided on the outcome of the Buccaneers-Packers showdown, but they are all convinced that it will be a close fight, per a report on Buccaneers.com. Members of USA Today’s Packers Wire also see a close one between the Buccaneers and the Packers.