One blowout in Charlotte was enough for ESPN’s Ben Solak. In his weekly column Tuesday, Solak listed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers among his “I might think” items with a simple line: “the Buccaneers are back.” That came two days after the 43-13 win over the Panthers, the most complete game the Bucs have played this season.
Solak’s case is built on the defense. He pointed to “a defensive line full of buttkickers who fold in the pocket on every passing down” and wrote that Tampa Bay has “a pair of lights-out corners on the outside who can challenge anyone in man-to-man situations.”
Yaya Diaby gives the argument weight
The pass rush part holds up. Tampa Bay sacked Bryce Young five times and forced four turnovers, and Yaya Diaby had three of those sacks, his first of the season. Todd Bowles told the team website it had been coming. “He finished them yesterday. He has been our most pressure guy without getting the sacks,” Bowles said. Vita Vea added a sack, Calijah Kancey returned an Al-Quadin Muhammad strip-sack 32 yards for a touchdown and David Walker still leads the team with four sacks. We argued after the game that the Bucs should pull Vea and Diaby off the trade block, and Sunday’s tape makes that easier to defend.
The cornerback claim needs another week. Jacob Parrish leads the NFL with 11 passes defensed, but his 69.8 PFF grade comes with an 86.3 passer rating allowed. Zyon McCollum intercepted Young and has allowed a 75.0 passer rating, with a 62.1 grade. Tykee Smith also picked off Young. That is good coverage, though “lights-out” is a stretch through seven games.
Atlanta is a tougher test than Carolina
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The Falcons arrive at 3-4 off a 29-20 win over the 49ers, and Michael Penix Jr. went 25 of 34 for 213 yards and three touchdown passes. San Francisco never sacked him and, according to The Associated Press, didn’t register a hurry. That is exactly the kind of quick-game operation that can blunt a four-man rush. Atlanta’s defense won the turnover battle 4-0, with Jessie Bates III making an interception, a forced fumble and nine tackles, and Maason Smith adding a sack.
Bowles knows how much is riding on the NFC South. “They are all big from here on out,” he said, per The Associated Press. “It was our first division game. We’ve got five more to go.” The Bucs also ran for 258 yards in Carolina, a top-five rushing performance in franchise history, while Baker Mayfield threw just 11 passes.
Solak is right about the front. The rest of his case gets settled at Raymond James Stadium, where Tampa Bay is 0-4 this season. Beating Atlanta would pull the Bucs even with the Falcons at 3-5 and make “back” a lot easier to say out loud.
More on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Update: Vita Vea, Chris Godwin Jr. and Kenny Gainwell Fill Bucs Trade Rumors After a 43-13 Rout
- 4 Overreactions to Bucs’ Win Over Panthers in Week 7, Including Sean Tucker Taking Over
- Is Zac Robinson’s Offense Finally Fixed? What the Bucs’ Week 7 Rout of Carolina Told Us
- Four Encouraging Signs and Three Lingering Concerns From the Buccaneers’ 43-13 Rout of Carolina
