Regular Season
The Buccaneers entered the season with the worst five-year winning percentage of any NFL team since World War II, including the expansion Buccaneers and their 26-game losing streak. They began the season with an embarrassing 41-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, in which Vinny Testaverde was ineffective against the Eagles' starters. This was followed with surprisingly competitive performances against quality teams, leading Perkins to reverse his previous estimation that the Buccaneers didn't deserve to be called a team. Problems in pass defense became evident early, with Perkins reluctant to put his secondary in man-to-man coverage, and no sacks through the first two games. The team frequently had to play from behind, being outscored 71-0 in the first quarter through the first seven games. They did not score any first-quarter points until a matchup with the Vikings in the eighth week of the season, but they outscored their opponents 61-14 in the fourth quarter in those seven games. If the first quarter were not counted, the Buccaneers would have started the season 6-1 instead of 2-5.
Perkins identified the team's main problem spots as turnovers, in which the Buccaneers led the NFL, and an inability to stop the pass on third downs. He praised Testaverde's ability to come back from costly early errors and to perform well late in games as the sign of a potentially great quarterback. However, Perkins' insistence on a one-dimensional running attack displayed a lack of confidence in Testaverde, and was easy for opponents to defend against. Perkins pointed to a late-season upset of the AFC-leading Buffalo Bills as evidence of the team's improvement through the season. This was confirmed by defensive lineman Kevin Kellin, who returned to the team after an 11-week absence to find their attitude changed. The team ended on a strong note, winning two of three games. Their run defense, which had been ranked 21st in the league the previous year, improved to 4th in the NFL. Bruce Hill's 1,040 receiving yards were the second-highest total in team history, behind only Kevin House's 1,176. Mark Carrier's 970 receiving yards left the team 30 yards short of having only the seventh pair of 1,000-yard receivers in league history.
Read more about this topic: 1988 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Season
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—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
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