Todd Bowles didn’t sugarcoat what he saw Friday night, and there wasn’t much to dress up anyway.
The Buccaneers finished their 2026 preseason with a 19-0 loss to the Jaguars at EverBank Stadium, and the night went sideways fast. Tampa Bay’s offense never found a rhythm, the special teams unit bled yardage in chunks, and only the defense gave the Bucs anything resembling a pulse.
The offensive numbers tell the story. Rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels finished 8-of-15 for 57 yards, lost a fumble and took three sacks.
Jake Browning came in during the third quarter and managed just 2-of-4 for 2 yards while being sacked twice. Connor Bazelak was 2-of-2 for 5 yards in his brief work.
The ground game didn’t do much to steady things, either. Sean Tucker averaged 3 yards per carry, while Josh Williams finished at 2.6 yards per attempt.
As a team, Tampa Bay produced just 87 net yards, six first downs, a 1.9-yard average per play and a 2-of-12 mark on third down. It was the first time the Bucs had been shut out in a preseason game since 1989, when they lost 30-0 to the Colts.
Special teams made the hole even deeper. Riley Dixon punted 10 times, and Jacksonville kept flipping the field with returns of 15, 11, 12, 29 and 15 yards.
The biggest blow came on a 63-yard punt return touchdown by Michael Wortham. Missed tackles, poor angles and, at times, poor effort showed up all night.
The defense was the one unit that mostly held up. In the first half, Jacksonville managed only 122 total net yards and went 0-for-6 on third downs. The Jaguars’ only points against that group came on a 61-yard field goal after a 15-yard drive.
Several defenders had moments early, including Anthony Nelson, Elijah Roberts, Caden Fordham, Ayden Garnes, DeMonte Capehart, Keionte Scott and Elijah Simmons. Jack Pyburn stood out with two sacks, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Tampa Bay did surrender a long touchdown drive in the third quarter, but the defense still did enough to keep the game from getting even uglier.
Afterward, Bowles didn’t mince words.
“Not good enough,” Bowles said. “Any time you get shut out… I didn’t think we protected the quarterback enough.
We couldn’t run the ball. We gave up a special teams touchdown.
The defense fought. They had some mistakes, but at least they fought.
I thought two out of three phases didn’t show up.”
That kind of showing is a rough way to close a preseason, especially with roster cuts looming. Tampa Bay has until Sunday evening to trim from 90 players to 53, and while the finale won’t be the only thing that matters, it was a bad time for so many players to come up empty in their last live audition.
The Bucs did get something out of their week in Jacksonville, especially with joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. But the final game itself was hard to defend, and now the focus shifts to those roster decisions and the opener in Cincinnati on Sept. 13.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Have One Last Roster Battle Fans Need To Watch
The Buccaneers head into their final preseason game against the Jaguars with the roster picture still carrying a few loose ends, and those fringe battles are often where the most attention is earned in late August. For Tampa Bay, the game is less about the scoreboard and more about which players can turn a strong summer into a legitimate case for one of the last spots before cutdown day.
Jalon Daniels is among the names worth tracking as he tries to make a push for the backup quarterback job, while Ayden Garnes has helped himself with his play on defense throughout the preseason. Kam Johnson also remains in the mix by doing the kind of special teams work that can tip the scales for players who need to stand out in more than one phase, which is exactly the sort of detail that can decide these final roster calls. [Read more 🡒]
Jaguars Take Control As Buccaneers Backup Battle Gets Messy
The first half of the Buccaneers-Jaguars preseason game offered plenty of work for Tampa Bays reserves, even if the scoreboard stayed quiet with Jacksonville up 3-0. Anthony Nelson gave the staff a useful reminder of why he remains a depth pass-rush option, while Kameron Johnson looked like the most reliable receiver in the group despite one drop. Punter Dixon also helped his case by averaging 45.3 yards per kick and placing two punts inside the 20.
The more uneasy part of the evaluation came elsewhere, where running back Tucker had only limited success after an early run and quarterback Jalon Daniels never really settled in. Daniels finished 7 of 14 for 54 yards and added a turnover, leaving Tampa Bay with more questions than answers as the backup competition plays out. For a team trying to sort through the edges of the roster, these are the kinds of snaps that tend to matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Backup QB Battle Just Put One Roster Spot In Focus
The Buccaneers quarterback room has become one of the more interesting parts of their preseason, with Jalon Daniels and Jake Browning competing for the backup job behind Baker Mayfield. Todd Bowles has kept the final-game plan close to the vest, leaving open the possibility that both quarterbacks will get work against the Jacksonville Jaguars as Tampa Bay continues sorting out its depth chart.
What makes the situation notable is that this may not be a simple winner-take-all battle. Tampa Bay could keep three quarterbacks on the active roster after final cuts, which would allow the team to hold onto both Daniels and Browning if it decides the room is too valuable to trim. The preseason finale should help clarify the pecking order, but the bigger roster question may linger a little longer. [Read more 🡒]