A week after losing 56-14 at Atlanta -- looking like seemingly the worst team in the league -- the Bucs went into Pittsburgh and somehow won. We should not be surprised.
When a team gets blown out, that can provide a psychological advantage. It's a wake-up call to everyone in the organization. Everyone knows they need to play better. And there's probably also a tendency for opponents to become complacement -- "the Falcons just put up 56 points against these clowns; if we come out and do our thing, we'll be fine."
Hard to believe, but if you look at the last 10 years, teams that have given up 50-plus points have gone 17-14 in their next game.
Weird, but true.
TEAMS ALLOWING 50-PLUS POINTS | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Pts | Opponent | Next Week |
2004 | Browns | 58 | Bengals | L, 42-15 vs. N.E. |
2004 | Falcons | 56 | Kansas City | W, 41-28 at Den. |
2004 | Titans | 51 | Colts | L, 49-38 vs. K.C. |
2005 | 49ers | 52 | Washington | W, 15-10 vs. T.B. |
2005 | Saints | 52 | Packers | L, 34-31 vs. Atl. |
2007 | Lions | 56 | Eagles | W, 37-27 vs. Chi. |
2007 | Bills | 56 | Patriots | L, 36-14 at Jac. |
2007 | Washington | 52 | Patriots | W, 23-20 at NYJ |
2007 | Bengals | 51 | Browns | L, 24-21 at Sea. |
2007 | Lions | 51 | Chargers | W, 25-20 vs. K.C. |
2008 | Cardinals | 56 | Jets | W, 41-17 vs. Buff. |
2008 | Kansas City | 54 | Bills | W, 20-13 at Oak. |
2008 | Packers | 51 | Saints | L, 35-31 vs. Car. |
2009 | Titans | 59 | Patriots | W, 30-13 vs. Jac. |
2010 | Washington | 59 | Eagles | W, 19-16 at Tenn. |
2010 | Broncos | 59 | Raiders | L, 24-16 at S.F. |
2011 | Colts | 62 | Saints | L, 27-10 at Tenn. |
2012 | Cardinals | 58 | Seahawks | W, 38-10 vs. Det. |
2012 | Raiders | 55 | Ravens | L, 38-17 vs. N.O. |
2012 | Titans | 55 | Packers | W, 38-20 vs. Jac. |
2012 | Bills | 52 | Patriots | L, 45-3 at S.F. |
2012 | Saints | 52 | Giants | W, 41-0 vs. T.B. |
2012 | Titans | 51 | Bears | W, 37-3 vs. Mia. |
2012 | Bills | 50 | Seahawks | L, 24-10 at Mia. |
2013 | Raiders | 56 | Kansas City | L, 26-13 at S.D. |
2013 | Steelers | 55 | Patriots | W, 23-10 vs. Buff. |
2013 | Bears | 54 | Eagles | L, 33-28 vs. G.B. |
2013 | Eagles | 52 | Broncos | W, 36-21 at NYG |
2013 | Cowboys | 51 | Broncos | W, 31-16 vs. Wash. |
2013 | Titans | 51 | Broncos | L, 37-34 vs. Ariz. |
2014 | Buccaneers | 56 | Atlanta | W, 27-24 at Pitt. |
—Ian Allan