Analyst Says Bucs Under 8.5 Wins This Season is Best Bet
· Yahoo Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to prove that what happened over the second half of last season is a thing of the past.
The 2025 Bucs began the season 6-2 and looked to be one of the best teams in the NFC. Then, as the injuries continued to mount, Tampa collapsed. The Bucs won only two of their last nine games, limping to an 8-9 finish, and were left out of the playoffs.
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However, it wasn't just the losing that left a bad taste in everyone's mouth; it was how they lost.
The effort just wasn't there. Star linebacker Lavonte David admitted to being called out by his teammates for "loafing." Head coach Todd Bowles acknowledged his defense was "just taking plays off." With the season falling apart, Tampa blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons, helping to seal their fate.
Even though Tampa made several aggressive moves in free agency and had a terrific draft, the team has been unable to get rid of last season's stink.
The Bucs are a talented team, but trust in them is extremely low. So low that BetMGM has set their win total at only 8.5 this season.
Vic Tafur, a senior writer at The Athletic, picked either the win total over or under for each team in the NFL and believes that the under for the Bucs is the way to go.
Tafur Not A Believer In BucsTafur is certainly not a believer in the Bucs this year and wonders whether Mike Evans' decision to leave after 12 seasons was because he doesn't believe the team can be successful. Baker Mayfield, as well as his ability to stay healthy for an entire season, is also brought into question.
"Evans jumping ship after 12 seasons, despite the Buccaneers offering more money than the 49ers did, should sound off alarms. Maybe he knows Baker Mayfield can no longer hold up for a full season at age 31. Mayfield was hobbling with knee, arm and elbow injuries last season, and though he hasn’t missed a game in three years, his toughness overshadows his effectiveness down the stretch. Maybe Evans knows Todd Bowles is just a .500 coach (35-33 with Tampa Bay).
"That said, I love rookie pass rusher Rueben Bain Jr., and the division is still wide open, so a one-game improvement and nine wins is definitely possible."
Final ThoughtsTampa finished 8-9 last year, and the belief is that they will be no better in 2026?
Remember, no team in the NFC South finished better than 8-9, and is expected to be weak again this season.
It's hard to believe that the Bucs won't be better in 2026 than they were in 2025, when injuries decimated them.
The team has added rookies Bain, Josiah Trotter, and Keionte Scott, and free agent signings Alex Anzalone, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and A'Shawn Robinson to its defense.
It's hard to imagine the Bucs being any worse this season, yet Tafur believes that is what will happen.
If that is the case, expect a massive amount of changes before the 2027 season.
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