The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren't given much of a chance for the 2023 season. Tampa Bay entered the season with +10,000 odds to win the Super Bowl, per Pro Football Reference. There were only three teams with worse odds than the Buccaneers: the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts.

Well, roughly a quarter of the way through the 2023 season, those same Buccaneers are currently leading the NFC South. They're 3-1 with their only loss coming at the hands of the defending NFC champs Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs really boosted their odds of winning the NFC South when they took down the Saints in Week 4.

Tampa Bay has come a long way and begun their season as well as they could have possibly imagined. But, there are still some things to iron out. The Buccaneers' bye came at a pretty good time after Mike Evans injured his hamstring against the Saints. Evans has a long history of nagging hamstring strains. But there is a different area the Bucs' could really stand to improve coming out of the bye week. That would be on the offensive line.

An Offensive Line

The biggest area of surprise from the Bucs this season has come from their prowess on offense after Tom Brady retired for good (we think) in the offseason. The Bucs currently rank 14th in EPA/play this season and are essentially neck and neck with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Baker Mayfield has been a big reason why.

Mayfield was left for dead after injuries hampered his play in Cleveland with the Browns and he walked into a bad situation with the Carolina Panthers. But he made the most of his brief stint in Los Angeles with the Rams and has kept that positive momentum going in Tampa.

He currently ranks fifth in the NFL in EPA + completion percentage over expectation. Only Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa, Josh Allen, and Russell Wilson have posted better composite scores so far this season.

The Bucs and Baker Mayfield have been this successful despite less than stellar play from their offensive line. Tampa Bay ranks 17th in pass block win rate, via ESPN. That's average; neither good nor bad.

A team can live with that. But the Bucs also haven't been able to get anything going with their run, and their offensive line is a big reason why. The Bucs rank 31st in run block win rate. Only the Carolina Panthers, Tampa's NFC South foe, have fared worse in that category.

As a result, Tampa has run for the sixth fewest yards in the NFL through four games. They're averaging three yards per carry as a team. Rachaad White has been efficient and shifty in space, but he hasn't had many of those opportunities on the ground. He's averaging 3.3 yards per carry though that isn't totally on him. Tampa's offensive line has to step up to help him out.

Buccaneers bounce back

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gotten off to a dream start after being left for dead before the season. A bye week will help them get healthy and keep things steady. But while they're away, their coaches need to find a way to get better play from their offensive line after returning from the bye.

If they do, then believers in the Bucs before the season will end up fattening their pockets.