Tag: Bucs defense

The worst defensive players for Tampa Bay in 2023, per PFF

These five players on the defensive side of the ball didn’t grade well for PFF across the season.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played some good defense in 2023, but they’ve also had plenty of regrettable moments across the course of the year.

The team is strong in run defense and stalwart in the red zone, but their passing defense remains one of the worst in the NFL. Some of the team’s notable mainstays like Lavonte David and Antoine Winfield Jr. have performed well this year, but others — including some newer additions to the team — have struggled. Pro Football Focus seemed to reflect this in their end-of-year grades for the team.

Here are the five lowest-graded defensive players on defense for the Bucs in 2023:

The top defensive players for Tampa Bay in 2023, per PFF

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a few stars in 2023, one of which might end up as an All-Pro.

It was overall a weird defensive year for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The team ended the regular season as one of the worst passing defenses in the NFL, but was able to prevent teams from scoring with a top red zone defense. The team was good in rushing defense, not typically getting abused by opposing linebackers. Through coverage busts and miscues, the Bucs often got the job done still on defense — and the unit may just beget an All-Pro for the 2023 season.

With the year ended, Pro Football Focus’ 2023 grades for the regular season are final. Here are the 10 highest-rated Bucs defensive players for 2023, per PFF:

The worst defensive players in Tampa Bay’s win over Jacksonville, per PFF

Pro Football Focus wasn’t too impressed with these five Bucs players despite an overall dominant performance.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense largely shut things down against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16, but problems still remain in the unit as a whole.

Tampa Bay’s secondary has still suffered from zone coverage busts, leading to a league-worst pass defense in passing yards per game. With four turnovers against the Jaguars, that didn’t matter all that much, but it is definitely something to note heading into a potential playoff bid should the Bucs win the NFC South. Pro Football Focus took to grading every Bucs defensive player for Week 16, and a few players in the secondary were given some of the lowest grades.

Here are PFF’s five worst graded defensive players for Tampa Bay against the Jaguars:

Bucs defense gives up more explosive plays than any NFL team

The Bucs are in the drivers seat for a fourth-consecutive playoff appearance, but this defensive stat doesn’t bode well for them if they get there.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are atop the NFC South and playing .500 football at 7-7, in part due to a three-game win streak at a crucial moment. And while this has done a lot to help Tampa Bay put itself in the position to make the playoffs, there’s one particular defensive stat that will make it hard for them to stay there.

The Buccaneers defense has allowed more explosive pass plays than any other team in the NFL. An explosive pass play is any pass play that goes for 20 or more yards, and the Bucs have given up more of those plays than anyone else. The defense has surrendered 59 explosive pass plays so far this season (9.8% of all pass plays it has faced), ahead of the Washington Commanders (58) and the Cincinnati Bengals (56). The team has done a good job keeping its run plays in check, only giving up 26 explosive run plays of 10 or more yards.

The team has faced a particular problem when it comes to zone coverage busts. It seems as if the team has multiple every week, with a notable one recently coming during Tampa Bay’s game against the Atlanta Falcons when a blown coverage allowed tight end Kyle Pitts to waltz into the end zone entirely uncovered.

Additionally, four of the last five quarterbacks the team has faced have thrown for 250 yards or more and two of those quarterbacks have thrown for 300 yards or more against the secondary. Tampa Bay’s win streak is undeniably impressive, but as it stands, the secondary is a huge problem heading into a potential playoff matchup with who will likely be either the Philadelphia Eagles or the Dallas Cowboys.

The Bucs will play the next game in their playoff charge against the Jacksonville Jagaurs at 4:25 p.m. on Christmas Eve for Week 16.

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Where the Bucs rank statistically after Week 15

See how the Bucs are looking in comparison to the rest of the league after their big win against the Packers:

Head coach Todd Bowles told reporters a few weeks ago that every game from here on out is a playoff game, and the team is certainly acting like it.

The Bucs are on a three-game win streak, the latest of which came against the Green Bay Packers in Week 15. The team won 34-20 on Sunday, bringing it to 7-7 and staying in the driver’s seat for the NFC South. It was a stellar offensive performance, and while the defense gave up quite a bit of yards, the Bucs were able to hold off the Packers and get the win at Lambeau Field.

It may be a playoff mentality and the Bucs have improved on a number of things, but the team still has a few things to work on before the postseason comes around. Check out how the Bucs related to the rest of the league statistically, per Team Rankings:

Where the Bucs rank statistically after Week 13

Here is where the Bucs stack up against the rest of the NFL after their latest win:

Playing the worst team in football is often a good way to get your statistical rankings up.

That’s what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did in Week 13 against the Carolina Panthers last Sunday, defeating them 21-18 at Raymond James Stadium. It was a good week for the defense, holding the Panthers to just 18 points and getting a takeaway off of quarterback Bryce Young. The offense remains a little shakey, but the run game has also improved considerably in the last few weeks as the offensive line has gelled and the running back room has stepped up.

Here is where Tampa Bay ranks statistically after Week 13, per Team Rankings:

The top defensive players in Tampa Bay’s win over Carolina, per PFF

Here were PFF’s top defensive players in Tampa Bay’s 21-18 win over the Panthers:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense did its job on Sunday and the team came away with a win.

The Bucs won their game against the Carolina Panthers 21-18 in Week 13, moving up to 5-7 overall and staying one game back on the NFC South. While the rain helped the defense a bit, the Bucs were still absolutely crippled at linebacker with razor-thin depth — and the team definitely stepped up, limiting the Panthers’ offensive attack to under 20 points and securing a victory for the home crowd.

Here are the 10 highest-graded players from Tampa Bay’s defense in Week 13 in the eyes of Pro Football Focus:

The worst defensive players in Tampa Bay’s loss to San Francisco, per PFF

These five players were PFF’s lowest graded in a game that saw 49ers QB Brock Purdy put up a perfect passer rating against the Bucs.

It was a defensive performance to forget against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 11.

The Bucs allowed 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to put up a perfect passer rating on Wednesday, throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns and completing 84% of his passes. The secondary was entirely shredded, and that effort led to the 49ers putting up 27 points in their victory. Tampa Bay was able to stifle the run decently well, but it didn’t matter when San Francisco was so successful through the air.

Pro Football Focus evaluated all Bucs defensive players who took snaps in Week 11, and while there were some good performers, a few played poorly in the matchup. Here are the five lowest-graded players from Week 11 on defense, per PFF:

Where the Bucs rank statistically after Week 9

The Bucs have had the statistical worst passing defense in the NFL since coming off the bye week.

So, uh, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ statistics in comparison to the rest of the league may have taken a big hit after Week 9’s game against the Houston Texans.

The Bucs’ offense got bumped up a tad in most areas due to a very strong performance behind quarterback Baker Mayfield, but defensive rankings absolutely plummeted after giving up 496 total yards to the Texans offense behind quarterback C.J. Stroud. In fact, since the team returned from its bye week in Week 6, its been the worst passing offense in the National Football League. Head coach Todd Bowles has to do something, but as it stands, it doesn’t look like vast improvement is on the table going forward.

Here is how the Bucs compare statistically to the rest of the league:

Where the Bucs rank statistically after Week 8

While the Bucs continue to drop in numerous categories, the team remains in the top of the league in red zone defense and points allowed.

After a third straight loss, the statistical prowess of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continues to snowball downward.

A once-mighty passing offense has regressed significantly and Tampa Bay’s third-down defense remains the worst in the league (by a large margin), but there are still a precious few stats the team remains at or near the top of the league for. As it stands, though, much of that is likely unsustainable and the Bucs will have to truly fix their looming problems if they intend to compete for the NFC South crown.

Here is where the Bucs stand statistically among the rest of the league, courtesy of Team Rankings: