Bucs midseason awards and grades: How has the team done heading into its bye?

TAMPA, Fla. — After an encouraging 3-1 start to open the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) have quickly fallen under the .500 category by losing five of its last six games.

The loss of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin can be one reason why Baker Mayfield and company are failing to stack up some wins, but the offense still put more than 20 points on the board in games without its top two receivers.

On the other side of the ball, the defense is giving up too many points for any kind of good offense to overcome. Head coach Todd Bowles has also made questionable decisions that have cost his team — such as not going for two in the final minute against Kansas City or calling a timeout to ice San Francisco's kicker.

There's a lot to dissect about the Bucs' performance this season, so let's get to it.

ABC Action News' Leo Santos gives his midseason awards and grades as the Bucs enter its bye week.

Awards

Best offensive player: Baker Mayfield (QB)

Mayfield followed his first impressive season in Tampa Bay by playing at an elite level in his second. The former No.1 overall pick has thrown the fifth most passing yards (2,505), is tied for first in passing touchdowns (24), and has a quarterback rating of 103.6. He's also proven he can still drive the ball down the field without Evans or Godwin and has created flashy plays using his legs. I mean, just look at how he stiff-arms 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa below to keep his team alive in a fourth-down situation. He has thrown six interceptions in his last five games but has made smarter and safer decisions in the past two weeks. It's simple — if the Bucs want to put some wins together, Mayfield needs to keep playing like one of the best QBs in the league.

Best offensive rookie player: Bucky Irving (RB)

Irving has made quite the mark in his first pro year. The 2024 fourth-round pick from Oregon has quickly climbed the ranks from being No. 3 on the depth chart to arguably the starting running back. He currently has 492 rushing yards, which is second-most in all rookie running backs. Despite his size, Irving has been electric on the field with his jukes, speed, and fast-twitch movement. He already has four touchdowns — the most among all rookie running backs — and is a big contributor to a much-improved running game for Tampa Bay. Bowles has said the team will continue using Irving and Rachaad White.

Best defensive player: Vita Vea (DE)

This was a toss-up between Vea and Kalijah Kancey, but I'm giving Vea just the edge over his teammate since he's played more games. This is probably the only bright spot for Tampa Bay's defensive unit. Vea has been instrumental in ensuring the Bucs remain one of the best rush defenses in the NFL. The 29-year-old currently has team-highs in sacks (five) and tackles for loss (eight). His physical presence and dominance question the opposing team on whether they should double-team him or risk leaving him in one-on-one situations. Just ask the Kansas City Chiefs how hard it was to contain him.

Best defensive rookie player: Tykee Smith (S)

Smith entered the season as a prospect for the Bucs, serving as Antoine Winfield's understudy. But due to some injuries in the secondary, the third-round pick took full advantage of his opportunities. He has quickly shown he can go toe-to-toe with some of the league's best receivers. So far, the former Georgia bulldog has 30 tackles, three forced fumbles, and one interception. His turnover ability has forced Bowles to make sure Smith stays on the field. Tampa Bay has one of the worst passing defenses this season, but Smith's play-making ability should be enough to ensure his team stays in close games throughout the rest of the season.

Most improved player: Zyon McCollum (CB)

McCollum's first two years in the league were ones to forget. Fans even questioned why Bowles gave plenty of playing time to McCollum in those years, but we can now see why. The 25-year-old needed that experience to help his development. This season, he has seen the field better by positioning himself in certain areas to either make a play or keep up with opposing receivers. He has 30 tackles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. The team's other starting cornerback, Jamel Dean, has been limited to six games this season, but it's still fair to say McCollum has been the team's best player in his position — and arguably in the top 10 across the league.

Most reliable player: Chase McLaughlin

This season has been filled with great kickers showing signs of regressing, such as Baltimore's Justin Tucker, Atlanta's Younghoe Koo, and San Francisco's Jake Moody. So it's important we show some support to McLaughlin. His performances last season earned him a three-year contract with the Bucs. This year, he's basically been automatic this year, converting 16 out of 17 field goal attempts. Six of them have come from 50 yards or further, with his longest being a 56-yard attempt. Players like him can be the make-or-break difference should the team push for a playoff spot.

Butch Dill/AP

Grades

Offense: A

Offensive coordinator Liam Coen has been in his bag this season. His creative play calling has led to the Bucs being the eighth-highest-scoring team this season. Whether it's play action, trick plays, pre-snap motion, or letting Mayfield extend plays to take a deep shot down the field, this offense is entertaining to watch. Accumulate that with an efficient two-punch run game with Irving and White, Coen has a lot of talent to work with and has been utilizing them to their best abilities. He decided to move Godwin back into the slot before his injury when he was on pace to have a record-breaking year. Evans is expected to come back into the fold after the bye week, so fans should expect this offense to keep putting lots of points on the board.

Reed Hoffmann/AP

Defense: D+

Bowles will defend his men every week, but it has now gotten to the point where fans have moved on from blaming the player to pointing the finger at him. As the defensive playcaller of the team, Bowles has had a mixed season so far. The defense is allowing the second-most passing yards per game and staying on the field for way too long. This comes back to bite them as we've seen Atlanta, Kansas City, and San Francisco secure game-winning drives in the final moments of these games. Bowles is usually known for his blitzing schemes but has done so less often this year, showing that he doesn't want to put too much responsibility on his secondary. Fans in the Tom Brady era were used to former head coach Bruce Arians' no risk it, no biscuit culture, but Bowles preferred the safe route ever since he took over. And yet, it continues to harm this team.

Michael Conroy/AP

Special teams: A

There's not too much to say here besides that it's good the team figured out its punting situation. Jake Camarda was the guy the past two seasons, but some early-season mishaps led to his release from the team, and now Trenton Gill is filling those duties. He's done a solid job, and I've already bragged about McLaughlin's excellence above.

Overall: C

Despite the current injuries to key players, Tampa Bay is still doing just enough to stay in playoff contention. It's not an understatement to say this team can make a deep playoff run when its defense is playing at its best. Tampa Bay's offense is very good, but it can't keep playing catch-up or be put in high-pressure situations to bail its defense out. If Bowles figures out a way to improve his defense, I expect this team to stack up plenty of wins after its bye with what remains to be an easy schedule on paper.