Previewing the 2016 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season, one game at a time. Today: at the San Diego Chargers in week thirteen.
Bucs all-time record vs. Chargers: 2-8
The San Diego Chargers have been a weird team the past half-decade. They always go into the season looking good, and then they massively disappoint. When they do make it to the playoffs, they manage to screw up in some ridiculous way — like missing every field goal attempt. Hi there Nate Kaeding. They’re also coming off a very disappointing 4-12 season, as opposed to all the very promising 4-12 seasons out there, I suppose.
The Chargers added some talent this offseason, but it’s not an overwhelming amount — and most of the players they did add are solid but not spectacular players, like Joey Bosa. Their biggest addition will be Ken Whisenhunt at offensive coordinator, which is likely to help quarterback Philip Rivers, who had some of his best years under Whisenhunt.
Those improvements aren’t all that marginal, but they don’t feel like they’re enough to turn a 4-12 team into a competitive group. The Chargers simply do not have the talent to keep up with a good team at this point, which is a waste of Rivers’ considerable quality as a quarterback. Antonio Gates is really old, Melvin Gordon struggled to anchor a lackluster running game last year and is recovering from an injury, Danny freaking Woodhead was their leading receiver last year — it’s just a bit of a mess out there in San Diego, worsened by the uncertainty surrounding a possible future relocation.
In all, despite the Chargers having a quality quarterback, this should be one of the easier games of the season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hopefully even a blowout. In San Diego. Now that would be something.