The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday at Everbank Stadium. The Bucs didn’t play any starters, so second and third strings ran the show. The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t start any of their starters either so quarterback Mac Jones ran the offense in the first half along with Kyle Trask running the offense for the Buccaneers. With the Jaguars controlling the time of possession 38:15 to the Bucs 21:45, Jacksonville beat Tampa Bay in their week 2 matchup of the preseason.
In the 20-7 loss the Buccaneers did walk away with some positive notes. The run game was somewhat successful throughout the game but the offense did fail to make necessary first downs to keep the drives going. Only one score was produced in Saturday’s loss against Jacksonville, Kyle Trask threw a six-yard pass to wide receiver Cody Thompson in the second quarter. Mac Jones threw for 210 yards with two touchdowns on 12 for 19 in pass completions. What did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers walk away with to have them hopeful for the season?
The Buccaneers Run Game Is Still In the Works
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It is no secret the Bucs’ running game has been bottom of the barrel for the past few seasons. In week one preseason win against the Cincinnati Bengals the Buccaneers ran for 136 yards on 32 carries with two touchdowns, this week no touchdowns but 76 yards on 16 carries. While the numbers aren’t wowing, what was seen on the field with running back Bucky Irving has the coaching staff optimistic about the season. Irving averaged 4.3 yards a carry on 6 carries for 26 yards but he created extra yards on some broken plays. To where when polished up for the season could be rather deadly to opposing defenses.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker didn’t have such a productive day unlike week 1 against the Bengals. Tucker only had four carries resulting in 32 yards. Against the Bengals, he had 10 carries for 68 yards. The Bucs still have time to work out the kinks with the run game but second-string offensive lineman Elijah Klein expresses his thoughts on the Buccaneers’ run game. On the team website, Klein says,
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did have a rushing touchdown by D.J. Williams but got called back due to a penalty.
Bucs’ Defensive Sacks
With the Jacksonville Jaguars controlling the clock and being able to keep drives going it gave the defense plenty of reps. One Tampa Bay Buccaneers player who benefited from it was third-string outside lineman Jose Ramirez. The 2023 sixth-round pick sacked the quarterback three times, had three tackles for a loss, and three quarterback touches. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense pass rush was pretty than the week before when they had no sacks. This week was another story with the Buccaneers defense that got 5 sacks, 6 tackles for losses, and 9 touches on the QB.
Head Coach Todd Bowles of the Buccaneers wasn’t pleased with the overall performance of the team but did have some positive things to say about the defense according to Scott Smith on the team website,
Coach Bowles is pleased with the depth of his linebackers and feels from front to back the players are solid. The only thing left to do is prove themselves and make the team’s roster.
Starters Will Play
Week 3 will be the final game of the preseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play at home against the Miami Dolphins. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, along with the rest of the first-string offense will be suiting up for this game. However, it gives backups one more shot to show the coaching staff what they can bring to the team.
With this being the last preseason game Bucs fans are anxious to see the star players of the team and what the chemistry will look like on the field. All of the Buccaneers’ offensive stars will make it to the field. No word yet of defensive stars Yaya Diaby, Calijah Kancey, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and Jordan Whitehead starting Saturday’s game.
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