The Tampa Bay Buccaneers forced five turnovers and intercepted Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams four times Sunday, yet left Soldier Field with a 27-24 loss. Locked On Bucs host James Yarcho and Locked On Bucs guest Evan Klosky argued the defeat exposed a problem more that Tuesday’s trade deadline (4 p.m. ET) alone cannot fix: an offense that can run effectively but cannot consistently function through the air.
Klosky said adding a receiver would not fix what he characterized as an operational failure. He placed responsibility across quarterback Baker Mayfield, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, pass protection and the receiving corps, while arguing the passing game has offered too few reliable intermediate options. His point was not that Mayfield is blameless; rather, the quarterback’s struggles have come within an offense Klosky believes is not regularly creating manageable throws.
That distinction matters as Tampa Bay weighs its deadline posture at 3-6. The defense supplied the sort of turnover edge that should put a team in position to win, while the offense failed to turn enough of those opportunities into a decisive margin. The club’s official recap noted that the Bears’ five giveaways included four Williams interceptions, but Chicago still escaped on a walk-off field goal.
Klosky’s proposed answer was not a splash addition at receiver. He suggested leaning harder into the run game, potentially adding another back and reducing the workload on running back Bucky Irving. Irving has 167 carries through nine games, according to the team’s statistics, and Klosky said that volume makes a complementary option more useful than another target in an offense still searching for passing-game answers.
Klosky floated Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard as the type of player who could fit that approach, but framed it as a hypothetical rather than a report of trade talks. His broader recommendation was a run-first formula built around Irving, fellow running back Kenny Gainwell, a disruptive defense and play-action throws instead of expecting one acquisition to overhaul the passing attack.
The deadline can still alter the roster, but it cannot by itself settle the question raised by the loss in Chicago. Robinson and Mayfield must find a more dependable passing structure if Tampa Bay wants its defense and ground game to translate into enough wins over the second half.
Tampa Bay enters Tuesday, November 10, with one final opportunity to make a trade before the 4 p.m. ET deadline. Whether it adds help or stands pat, the immediate test will be whether the offense can turn a strong rushing foundation and opportunistic defense into a sustainable formula.
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