Todd Bowles has spent years building his reputation on the defensive side, and this season the Buccaneers’ defense is making a loud case that he was right all along. The problem is that Tampa Bay’s offense keeps dragging the whole operation down.
On Sunday Night Football, the Bucs’ defense delivered the kind of performance that should have been enough to win most games. Chicago came in after lighting up the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 the week before, but Caleb Williams and the Bears were shut down after a fast start against Tampa Bay.
The secondary was the story again, with Jacob Parrish and Zyon McCollum continuing to play at an All-Pro level in front of a national audience. Safety Tykee Smith was excellent, too.
Tampa Bay forced five total turnovers and intercepted Williams four times, yet even that wasn’t enough. The offense was somehow worse, and that kept the Buccaneers from cashing in on a defensive masterpiece. Still, the outing only strengthened the argument that this unit deserves far more attention than it’s getting.
McCollum’s night stood out even more because the interceptions weren’t gifts. He made two of them look easy with the kind of hands, timing and ball skills that weren’t matched by Chris Godwin or Emeka Egbuka all season. McCollum and Parrish now have six interceptions combined, while linebacker Alex Anzalone matched McCollum for the team lead by picking off his fourth pass in the win over the Bears.
The numbers back up the eye test. Tampa Bay has the most interceptions in the NFL and is allowing fewer than six yards per pass attempt. It’s the league’s most dynamic pass defense, and the core pieces are all young: Smith, Parrish, McCollum and rookie Keionte Scott.
That kind of secondary is the sort of thing Super Bowl teams are built on. The source points to past champions and repeat contenders like the Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots as examples of teams that leaned on elite secondaries to get there more than once over the last 10 years.
The Buccaneers are putting something together on the back end under Bowles. The defense looks capable of becoming the foundation of a championship run down the line. The frustrating part is that Baker Mayfield and the offense have been so poor that the NFL’s best defense, or at least one of them, is getting buried in the noise.
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Buccaneers Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Struggling Receiver Room
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The move opens another spot at receiver for a group that has not found much traction in the passing game this season. Sills had recently returned from injury and got into three games, but he never became a real factor in the offense, leaving the Buccaneers with one more opening to evaluate as they continue searching for more reliable production on the perimeter. [Read more 🡒]