Leader.
Think about it: How many teams could withstand the barrage of injuries the Bucs’ offense has suffered and still be one of the best teams in the NFL.
No Cody Mauch. No Luke Goedeke. No Luke Hazzard. No Mike Evans. No Chris Godwin. No Emeka Egbuka. No Bucky Irving.
Any mortal team would curl up in a ball like a wounded hound, wanting its belly rubbed to forget the hurt.
The Bucs? With that injury-ravaged offense? They score points. They hold the opposition to a mere field goal in the second half.
They win.
This game just blew Joe away.
Lose a Hall of Fame receiver, lose a Pro Bowl receiver, lose a likely Offensive Rookie of the Year? No problem. Just throw bombs to a seventh-round pick like Tez Johnson. Throw touchdowns to a guy many Bucs fans didn’t think should even be on the 53-man roster, Kameron Johnson. Throw passes to a guy that a little over a year ago was watching games on the couch just like you and Joe. That would be Sterling Shepard.
And the Bucs keep winning. Remarkable.
This is likely because the Bucs have a quarterback the rest of the league gave up on. Baker Mayfield has willed this team to winning ways, no different than what the great Tom Brady used to do.
These Bucs are starting to make Joe think it is special. You could build a nucleus of a playoff team with just the guys the Bucs have sidelined with injuries.
What a gutsy, glorious win over a team that has long had a hex on the Bucs.
It’s the middle of October and Joe can smell the playoffs.