Bucs On Losing To 49ers, “On To Cincinnati”

It’s no secret that the Bucs have a embarrassing, 35-7 loss at the hands of the 49ers last Sunday. They were defenseless (and offensive), allowing Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy to star in his first NFL start as a quarterback as he struggled to match points with the 49ers on the scoreboard.

Tampa Bay will have a much more established starter this week in the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, a man of many nicknames. Whether it’s ‘Joe Brrr’, ‘Joe Shiesty’ or ‘Joey Franchise’, he has quickly established himself as one of the most elite signal callers in the league.

Bucs versus Elite QB-WR Tandem in Burrow, Chase

The dynamic shift to face the 2021 AFC champions led by Burrow was not lost on Bucs head coach Todd Bowles during his press conference on Wednesday. Speaking of what he adds to their insult, Bowles garnered nothing but praise.

“He’s great, he’s ready in the pocket, he throws a great ball all over the field, he can throw from any angle, he can make any pitch, he’s got some great receivers to throw to,” said Bowles.

“He has a good understanding of the attack and the game, he can take advantage of what you’re trying to give him, he can run the ball when he needs to run the ball, he can throw people open, he can use his feet. He understands the game Certain guys, when they get out of college, that boy already has a knack for the game – he’s got it.

Following Burrow from college at LSU was wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who came on the scene as a rookie last year and picked up where they left off as college teammates. Of Burrow’s 34 touchdown passes in 2021, 38.2%, or 13, went to Chase alone. In just nine games this year, he put up 821 yards and seven scores. Chase is right in the argument with another LSU product, Justin Jefferson, as the best receiver in the league. Bowles also spoke of Chase’s talent.

“[He has] excellent hands, excellent size, very good at getting off the ball, his catch radius is huge,” said Bowles. He added that “it’s rare for someone to get out on the field so quickly at that size. He has a natural talent for the game and looks great doing it.”

Bucs are “On to Cincinnati”

Drawing such a tough game as the Bucs’ against the 9-4 Bengals means they need to put last week’s blow behind them quickly. Consider Buc’s safety Logan Ryan one of the strongest proponents of this message.

He was the leading tackler on Sunday with a total of nine tackles, often the last line of defense to prevent the 49ers from making even bigger gains. He’s already shifted his focus to guarding the Burrow-Chase tandem and using replays against quarterback Tom Brady as preparation.

“Forget it, last week was last week, we have to get ready for Cincy,” Ryan said after practice. “Joe Burrow won’t care about us last week, so we have to get ready to bring it this week.”

The Bucs need to bring it on and get going in the final four weeks of the regular season in an NFC South division still up for grabs. A great boost to this sentiment would be beating a hot Bengals team, who have gone 7-1 in the past eight games.

The Bucs have spent their lives on a roller coaster ride that has taken them to the highs of a division lead and the lows, or steep drops, of losing winnable games. This is a ride the team needs to get back on track. “You can’t ride the roller coaster forever, can you?” Ryan added. “We have to go back upstairs. We want to be the team that beats Cincy, and we go from there.”

While the team hosts Cincinnati, Ryan made a timely call back to a memorable Bill Belichick postgame press conference in 2014. That season, he was a sophomore player with the Patriots, a team that would defeat the Bengals 43-17 and go on to win the Super Bowl.

“I played for a famous coach who loves ‘Do your job’ and ‘On to Cincinnati.’ Those are my cries for today.”