The Buccaneers walked into Thursday night already needing a break. They got one.
Dallas ruled out Joey Porter Jr. because of an illness, leaving the Cowboys even thinner in a secondary that was already in rough shape. Cobie Durant is also out, and suddenly Tampa Bay has a real opening to attack a defense that was supposed to get help from the trade for Porter Jr. but won’t have him available.
That matters because the Cowboys have been vulnerable through the air all season. They’re No. 30 in total defense and No. 24 against the pass, which is exactly why they brought Porter Jr. in the first place.
Instead, they’ll have to lean on DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel Jr. at outside cornerback, with Ameer Speed also in the mix. Speed has played just 31 snaps all year.
The numbers on the corners only deepen the opportunity. Bland ranks No. 72 among 103 qualifying PFF cornerbacks, while Revel sits at No.
- Porter Jr., by contrast, was targeted once in 24 snaps last week and didn’t allow a catch.
For Tampa Bay, the chance is there to do something it hasn’t done much of: push the ball downfield. The Buccaneers have been searching for a spark offensively, but they still have weapons in Chris Godwin Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Ted Hurst and Tez Johnson. The trick will be how much they ask rookie Jalon Daniels to handle, but the matchup gives them room to open things up.
That said, Tampa Bay will need every bit of help it can get to keep up with Dallas. The Cowboys have been rolling, scoring 30-plus points in three straight games behind Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
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It is not the flashiest issue on the board, but it is the kind of decision that can matter when a team is trying to keep its operation steady year after year. McLaughlins value is now part of the broader conversation around how Tampa Bay allocates money, and this episode gives fans a closer look at the thinking behind that process while leaving plenty of room for debate about where the kicking situation is headed next. [Read more 🡒]
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Against the Cowboys, that young group again showed why the Bucs feel better about this side of the ball than they did a year ago. Tampa Bay kept Dallas offense in check and leaned on the kind of coverage and tackling that can travel, with Trotter and Scott right in the middle of it. For Bowles, its turning into the kind of early-season foundation defenses usually need, even if there is still more for these rookies to prove. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Have A Real Emeka Egbuka Problem After This Start
Emeka Egbuka arrived in Tampa Bay with the kind of early-career momentum that usually buys a receiver some room to work through a rough patch. Instead, the first five weeks of his second NFL season have put a spotlight on how sharply his production has fallen from the standard he set as a rookie, and it has left him looking like the least efficient pass catcher on a Buccaneers offense that has needed more dependable answers from him.
There have still been a few encouraging snaps and plays along the way, but the broader picture is hard to miss when compared with what he did a year ago. Egbuka has not matched the same burst, the same impact on chunk gains, or the same consistency that made him such a promising piece of Tampa Bays receiver group, and until that changes, his role in the offense will keep drawing attention for all the wrong reasons. [Read more 🡒]