David Walker keeps forcing his way into the conversation in Tampa Bay.
The rookie EDGE has become the Buccaneers’ most effective pass rusher, and his production is now showing up on the league leaderboard too. Against the Steelers on Sunday, Walker logged his first multi-sack game with two sacks and added a career-high seven tackles in Tampa Bay’s 26-19 overtime loss in Pittsburgh.
The bigger headline is how loud his numbers have become. Walker is first in pass-rush win rate at 26% and sack rate at 7%, and he also ranks second in run-stop percentage. That kind of output stands out even more considering he is coming off a torn ACL that kept him out all last season.
Walker was a problem for Pittsburgh from the start, exploding off the line and winning to the outside with regularity. He’s now up to four sacks on the year, which still leads the team despite his backup designation on the depth chart. That’s why the Buccaneers need him on the field as much as possible while they sort through their best rushing combinations.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, still has work to do in its effort to find more consistency on both sides of the ball. Todd Bowles’ defense has held up well against the run, but getting after the quarterback remains a major need as the schedule moves into the middle stretch.
The offense showed life early against Pittsburgh, then faded after halftime and managed only two field goals the rest of the way. The defense followed a similar pattern, as Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers found their rhythm after the break.
Now the focus shifts to Carolina, where the Bucs get their first interdivisional matchup of the season against Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Young has thrown for 1,549 yards, good for seventh in the NFL, and Carolina has protected him well, allowing only 12 sacks.
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Todd Bowles Sent Buccaneers A Message They Better Carry Forward
The Buccaneers needed a reset more than a celebration after rolling past the Panthers 43-13 in Week 7, and Todd Bowles made sure the tone stayed pointed toward what comes next. Tampa Bay is still 2-5, so even a lopsided win does not change the larger picture, and Bowles has been stressing that the group has to carry the same focus and attitude forward instead of treating one good afternoon as a turning point.
Atlanta is on deck next week in a divisional game that carries plenty of weight for a team trying to stabilize its season. Bowles has already been reminding his locker room that the margin for comfort is thin, and the challenge now is keeping the energy from Sunday from fading once the attention shifts to the Falcons. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Finally Delivered The Kind Of Win Fans Needed
The Buccaneers had been waiting for a clean, stress-free afternoon, and they finally got one in Charlotte. Tampa Bay rolled past Carolina 43-13 at Bank of America Stadium, with Baker Mayfield back in the mix after missing time and Bucky Irving setting the tone on the ground with 106 yards and two touchdowns. The offense did its part, but the larger story was the way the game never felt in doubt once the Bucs settled in.
Tampa Bays defense helped make sure of that, forcing multiple turnovers and keeping Carolina from ever finding a rhythm. It was the kind of complete performance the Buccaneers needed after a rough stretch, the sort that can calm things down around a team and restore some confidence heading into the next week. For a group that has been searching for traction, this was the rare game that offered it in every phase. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Suddenly Have Two Reasons To Believe In This Division Race
A lopsided win over Carolina did more than get Tampa Bay back on track. The Buccaneers 43-13 victory trimmed the margin for error, but it also kept them alive in a wide-open NFC South race after a frustrating start to the season. This is the sort of game that can change the tone around a team quickly, especially when it comes with playmaking on both sides of the ball.
Zyon McCollum helped set the defensive tone with an interception and a blocked field goal that turned into points, while Bucky Irving gave the offense a steady boost with a heavy workload and a pair of touchdowns. For a team at 2-5, those are the kinds of complementary performances that matter most, because Tampa Bay does not need perfection so much as it needs to keep finding reasons to believe the division is still within reach. [Read more 🡒]