The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got just two drives from their starters in Saturday’s preseason matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, but there was still enough in the first half to sort out who flashed and who stumbled.
On the positive side, the Bucs’ pass rush came to play. Outside linebacker Yaya Diaby set the tone early with two key pressures over those two starter series, forcing incompletions and helping stall Kansas City each time. The line worked together well around him, but Diaby’s ability to get after Chiefs QB Justin Fields stood out.
David Walker added to the pressure party even without a sack. He finished the first half with three pressures, and the last one came with a spin move that jumped off the screen.
Walker tore his ACL and couldn’t play in 2025, but now that he’s back getting reps in 2026, he’s looked strong in camp and in preseason. This was the second time he’s shown off that spin move in preseason, and Tampa Bay will want that same burst once the games count.
The Bucs also got a strong showing from Fordham, who is fighting for a roster spot and helping his case. He finished with four combined tackles, including three solo stops, and added a tackle for loss that disrupted a run and helped force a defensive stop. With competition in the room from the likes of Nick Jackson and John Bullock, Fordham still has work to do, but he made an impression.
Joe Nelson was another edge defender who made things happen. He registered a strip sack on Fields that didn’t lead to a turnover, but it did knock the Chiefs back and send them away with a punt.
Later in the second quarter, he added another half-sack to push Kansas City outside the red zone. Nelson is in line to serve as EDGE4, and plays like that are exactly why he should stick.
Not everyone helped themselves. Hurst drew a 15-yard penalty after slapping the helmet of a Chiefs defender, and that mistake pushed Tampa Bay back and ended in a punt. He didn’t get much work over the two quarters, but if he wants to earn serious snaps in 2026, he’ll need to be much cleaner.
Foerner had the roughest moment of the half. He missed an edge pickup on Felix Anudike-Uzomah, and quarterback Jake Browning took a hard hit that forced him out of the game briefly. For a tackle, that kind of rep stands out for all the wrong reasons, and Foerner’s quick loss on the line was the key issue.
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Bucs Helped Create A Wild Harrison Butker Moment That Wont Count
The preseason can produce some strange footnotes, and the Buccaneers found themselves part of one Sunday when Harrison Butker drilled a 69-yard field goal against Tampa Bay. The kick would have topped the NFLs official mark, but preseason games do not count in the record books, leaving the Chiefs standout with a booming reminder of what he can do and the Bucs with an unusual line on the game receipt.
Butker was sharp enough overall to give the moment even more weight, adding two other long field goals while missing one try. His 69-yarder still lands as one of the longest made in any actual football game, tied for second all-time, even if it will not live alongside the leagues official records. [Read more 🡒]
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The reaction afterward was almost as sharp as the kick itself, with NFL analyst Joe Schad publicly floating the idea that the league competition committee should consider narrowing the goal posts. For Tampa Bay, it was the sort of offseason headline that lands with extra sting because it came against their own defense and turned a routine preseason snap into a broader debate about where kicking is headed next. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Pass Rush Is Creating A Problem Opponents Didn't See Coming
The early preseason work has offered a glimpse of something the Buccaneers badly wanted to see after last seasons modest sack total: a pass rush that can make quarterbacks uncomfortable in more ways than one. Tampa Bay has mixed in new faces and familiar ones, with Al-Quadin Muhammad, Rueben Bain Jr. and the return of David Walker adding juice to a group that already includes Yaya Diaby and Anthony Nelson.
What has stood out is how often that collection of edge rushers has been around the ball in the opening preseason games, turning pressures into a steady stream of disruption. It is still August, and plenty can change once the games count, but Tampa Bay appears to have found a front that is creating a problem opposing offenses did not have on their preseason checklist. [Read more 🡒]