The Bucs’ season opener in Cincinnati turned into a 33-27 loss, but the snap counts tell a pretty clear story about how Tampa Bay wanted to play - and who ended up carrying the load on both sides of the ball.
On offense, the Bucs leaned hard into 11 personnel, and the workload was spread mostly across Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr. and rookie Ted Hurst III. Egbuka and Godwin tied for the team lead with 49 snaps apiece, good for 86 percent, while Hurst wasn’t far behind at 75 percent and just six fewer snaps.
Egbuka was involved right away, Godwin chipped in, and Hurst took a little longer to find his footing. Once he did, though, he started building a connection with Baker Mayfield and finished with 36 yards on three catches in the second half, all on the same fourth-quarter drive.
The rest of the receiver rotation barely cracked the game plan. Tez Johnson played 13 snaps and Kameron Johnson only five. Johnson’s day will be remembered for the dropped touchdown in the end zone, though Tampa Bay still scored on the drive anyway.
The backfield split was also notable. Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell entered the year with plenty of buzz, and both were used regularly, with Irving on the field for 61 percent of the snaps and Gainwell for 46 percent.
But the much-discussed Pony package, with both backs on the field together, didn’t show up often. More often than not, one simply replaced the other.
Irving was the more productive of the two. He ran for 45 yards and a touchdown, and added seven catches for 48 yards.
Along with Egbuka, he was one of the main engines of the Tampa Bay offense. Gainwell, meanwhile, finished with 15 rushing yards and one reception.
At tight end, there wasn’t much beyond Cade Otton, who played all but one snap. Payne Durham logged seven snaps, while Ko Kieft and Bauer Sharp each played one. Given the state of the group and the fact that the Bucs were chasing the game early, the heavier lean toward receivers made sense.
Defensively, the biggest standout was rookie inside linebacker Josiah Trotter. He made the kind of debut that jumps off the page: a pick-six, a sack and a team-high 10 tackles.
Even so, he still didn’t play every snap. That distinction went to Alex Anzalone, who was on the field for all 64 defensive snaps despite what the article calls the worst game of anyone.
SirVocea Dennis saw limited action, but the expectation is clear: Trotter should be on the field for every snap next week.
Vita Vea also drew attention after holding in for much of training camp and missing a lot of reps. The Bucs still gave him the heaviest workload among defensive tackles at 69 percent. Calijah Kancey and A’Shawn Robinson followed, with Elijah Roberts and Rakeem Nunez-Roches next, though each of those two played just 16 snaps.
The edge group didn’t produce much. Rueben Bain Jr. played one more snap than Yaya Diaby, 41 to 40, while Al Quadin-Muhammad and Anthony Nelson handled 26 and 23 snaps, respectively.
The issue wasn’t just the rotation - it was the impact, or lack of it. Bain and Diaby were ineffective, and Muhammad was the best of the group.
Tampa Bay had to adjust in the secondary when Jacob Parrish exited early with a back injury. That opened the door for Benjamin Morrison, who responded with a strong showing and ended up playing 67 percent of the snaps. Zyon McCollum led the outside corners at 98 percent.
Keionte Scott’s role in the nickel is now clear after he played 73 percent of the snaps. At safety, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Tykee Smith were on the field for all but three snaps, while Miles Killebrew got two snaps late as the Bucs tried to force a fumble with the game slipping away.
The secondary was one of the brighter spots for Tampa Bay. The group tackled well and broke up passes, and if that holds while the pass rush improves, Todd Bowles’ defense should be in much better shape moving forward.
In Other News...
Bucs Already Have A Real Concern In The Middle Of Their Defense
Alex Anzalones stat line looked busy enough against the Bengals, with seven tackles, but the tape told a more complicated story for the middle of Tampa Bays defense. He was credited with inconsistent play and found himself out of position at times, which is the kind of issue that can quietly unravel a unit even when the box score still looks respectable. Rookie Rueben Bain Jr. also had only a small footprint in the game, finishing with one assisted tackle as the Buccaneers searched for more impact in the middle of the field.
Josiah Trotter was the one bright spot, turning in the games most active defensive performance with 11 tackles, a sack, a pass defensed and a pick-six touchdown. Even so, Tampa Bays next test comes quickly with the Browns on deck, and the Buccaneers will need the center of the defense to settle in before a sturdier opponent starts probing those same soft spots. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Loss Exposed Familiar Problems But One Rookie Gave Fans Hope
The Buccaneers came out of Week 1 with a 33-27 loss to the Bengals, and the film offered a little of everything that has frustrated this team before. Baker Mayfields three fumbles were the clearest example, but the problems did not stop there. Tampa Bays defense had its own communication issues and struggled to generate consistent pressure, while the offense had the kind of delays and miscues that can make a new playcallers first outing feel much longer than the calendar says it should.
Bucky Irving was one of the few reasons for optimism. The rookie running back scored on the ground and also caught seven passes, giving the Buccaneers a much-needed jolt in a game that otherwise exposed familiar concerns. For a team trying to establish a cleaner identity early in the season, Irvings debut offered a small but meaningful reason to believe there is at least one fresh piece ready to help steady things. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Week 1 Loss Put One Early Strength Under The Microscope
The opening week loss offered the Buccaneers a little bit of everything, but one of the more encouraging signs came from a secondary that held up well against a Bengals receiving group with real firepower. In a season where early tape can be misleading, Tampa Bay at least showed enough resistance on the back end to make a positive first impression, and the health of the offensive line gave Baker Mayfield a cleaner platform than he often had a year ago.
Still, the larger concern sits up front on defense, where the pass rush did not consistently affect Cincinnati the way the Bucs would have wanted. It is only one game, of course, and the sample size is far too small to draw any sweeping conclusions, but these are the kinds of early data points that matter in September. If the secondary really is a strength, the next question is whether the front can do enough to take advantage of it. [Read more 🡒]