Teams Winning At Halftime Have Large Advantage

November 16th, 2022

“Byron, we need points fast.”

This almost seems obvious on face value, but Joe didn’t know this was such an advantage for winning ballgames.

Per The33rdTeam.com, teams holding a halftime lead this century have won 77 percent of their games. That’s impressive.

And the Bucs are pretty much holding to NFL percentages.

The Bucs are 5-5 through 10 games and 3-2 in games in which they’ve led at halftime, slightly below the league average.

Here are Bucs results this season and the halftime score:

Win at Dallas, winning 12-6 at halftime.
Win at New Orleans, losing 3-0 at halftime.
Loss vs. Green Bay, losing 14-3 at halftime.
Loss vs. Kansas City, losing 28-17 at halftime.
Win vs. Atlanta, winning 13-0 at halftime.
Loss at Pittsburgh, losing 10-9 at halftime.
Loss at Carolina, losing 7-0 at halftime.
Loss vs. Baltimore, winning 10-3 at halftime.
Win vs. Los Angeles, losing 7-3 at halftime.
Win vs. Seattle, winning 14-0 at halftime.

So what does this tell Joe? It might be wise for offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich (advisor Bruce Arians?) to knock off the plodding offense in the first half and build a lead. You know, like Sunday in Munich where the Bucs were in attack mode right away after their first drive.

Joe believes the Bucs should make the playoffs. But unless you want to throw away Brady’s likely final season in Tampa, it would behoove Leftwich to find a way to score at least 14 points in the first half.

24 Responses to “Teams Winning At Halftime Have Large Advantage”

  1. Redeemer Says:

    I agree Joe. It’s imperative for this team to start fast. Brady is still very hard to beat with a lead, because he doesn’t turn it over. You also have to take less chances with a lead. Teams are more likely to blitz when behind. Brandy is still excellent against the blitz.

  2. Statisticly Insignificant Reader Says:

    Ryan Jensen UPDATE???

  3. MadMax Says:

    And dont EVER throw a pass to Brady again!….also pick your spots wisely when going for it on 4th down if you’re in FG range. We have a great FG kicker and absolutely the best punter!!!

    Dont leave points on the board and dont leave the enemy with good field position!

  4. David Says:

    Absolutely. It goes to what I’ve been saying all season, they are a pass first team. That sets up their run, which then sets up the play action. They try so hard to run. It’s worked only twice- Dallas and Seattle. They really need to open the offense up a little more, which will help the running game and play action in the second half.

  5. Joe Says:

    Ryan Jensen UPDATE???

    He’s working on his new house in Colorado.

  6. Kentucky Buc Says:

    Teams holding a lead at the end of the game usually win.

  7. Goatfarmer Says:

    The Leftboob will read this and resolve that the opening script against the Browns will be 15 runs up the middle/left.

  8. Henry Says:

    I could see Brady coming back for another year. He just lost a fortune with that FTX investment, divorce is settled so no pressure from that and the spotlight on the field far out shadows the booth. Maybe the Glazers can sweeten the pot with a small interest in ownership. At 46 he would still be better than anyone within our reach through the draft or even free agency.

  9. Jack Sparrow Says:

    I agree. We need to score TD every time the offense is out there.

  10. D-Rok Says:

    “Joe Says:
    November 16th, 2022 at 3:44 pm
    Ryan Jensen UPDATE???

    He’s working on his new house in Colorado.”

    Please tell me this is satire/hyperbole/conflatulation, Joe? I mean, I’d welcome any Jensen news as much as the next fan, but this screams “SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT JENSEN. I’LL TELL YOU WHEN I KNOW SOMETHING.”

    Correct?

  11. Anonymous Says:

    I count a 3-1 record in games with a lead at halftime

  12. SufferingSince76 Says:

    D-Rok, Joe’s pretty much already said that.

  13. Rod Munch Says:

    14 points a game would be a lot of Leftwich, so asking for that in a half is a bit much.

  14. Gofortheface30 Says:

    Booger McFarland says that the team leading at the end of the 4th quarter usually wins the game

  15. Rod Munch Says:

    Gofortheface30 – That might be the smartest thing ever posted in the comment section of this site.

  16. Your Mom Says:

    There’s a pretty good chance that the better team is going to have the lead after the first quarter, half time, third quarter, etc.

    What that stat is implying but is not proving is that having a lead at halftime MAKES you win the game. But it’s not necessarily true from the data presented. Nerd out

  17. banana Says:

    why

  18. Joe Says:

    Please tell me this is satire/hyperbole/conflatulation, Joe? I mean, I’d welcome any Jensen news as much as the next fan, but this screams “SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT JENSEN. I’LL TELL YOU WHEN I KNOW SOMETHING.”

    (Sigh)

    You’re going to have to be detailed what advantage Joe would have not reporting any Ryan Jensen news.

    Last thing Joe heard about Jensen was he was pouring concrete for the foundation of his new house. 🤷‍♂️

  19. DungyDance Says:

    Joe he demands the info anyway, lol. While you’re at it, find out the power ball numbers for us.

  20. FortMyersDave Says:

    Geez Leftwich looks like he is half in the bag in that photo with Brady as if he had drunk about a dozen Big Storm Bromosas and did not get to the urinal in time……

  21. BucsfanFred Says:

    Don’t get on Joe’s azz about Jensen.
    If that great player was coming back soon we’ll probably hear it here first.
    I personally don’t think he’s coming back this year.
    I have zero inside knowledge.

  22. BucsfanFred Says:

    When I say “Joe” I mean the Joe’s. As one sorta person.

  23. Goatfarmer Says:

    (Boron, in the voice of Forrest Gump)

    “I’m not a smmmaaaahhrt man, Tommy. But, I do know what a f-f-football is.”

  24. garro Says:

    “Teams Winning At Halftime Have Large Advantage”

    Ummm … yeah

    Amazing stat Joes

    Come on man!