The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their second straight game in a dominating 28-10 win over the Denver Broncos. Tampa Bay played well on both sides of the ball on Sunday, however there was some sloppiness that should be addressed.
Offense
Tom Brady threw for 297-yards with three touchdowns, he completed 25/38 passes. A major bright side to his performance on Sunday was that he threw zero interceptions, something that has been a concern since week one and two.
Mike Evans made history on Sunday with two receptions, two-yards and two touchdowns. An interesting stat line for a player of Evans’ caliber. And even though he only had two-yards, he was still a major contributor thanks to the touchdowns.
Brady utilized the tight ends a lot on Sunday. Rob Gronkowski had 48-yards over the weekend. This comes a few days after he said he’s a “blocking tight end.” Gronkowski made his presence known, and didn’t miss a step. O.J. Howard got a lot of reps in as well and had 49-yards.
Scotty Miller had a great game with 83-yards. And Chris Godwin played well too with 64-yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, Godwin left the game with a hamstring injury late in the 2nd half.
Defense
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defense was on fire on Sunday and accumulated four sacks. Antoine Winfield Jr. keeps getting better each week and left Sunday’s game with one sack and six total tackles.
Shaquil Barrett, the NFL’s reigning sack leader, had two sacks in Denver. Plus he had three tackles for a loss. Barrett’s homecoming was a dominant one, and truly showed how talented he is.
The rest of the defense was stellar; everyone got a piece of the action. Lavonte David had the game’s only interception, while Jason Pierre-Paul was able to give the Buccaneers two points thanks to a safety.
Stats
The Buccaneers led in almost every category. They had 353 total yards, while the Broncos had only 226. However out of the 13 penalties, the Buccaneers had nine. A flash back to week one in New Orleans. The Buccaneers led in rushing yards, 68-42
Denver only had one passing touchdown and a total of 27-minutes of possession. Even with Tampa Bay’s great game, the stats weren’t that uneven. The Buccaneers had 17 first downs to Denver’s 13. In total plays, Tampa Bay only had 65. The Broncos had 59.
Sloppy Play
The Buccaneers must learn how to become a two-half team. It seems that all of their success comes in the first half, then they flat line in the second. In the 4th quarter, they got sloppy on defense. And their offense was ineffective at gaining yardage. Even with several red zone opportunities, the Buccaneers couldn’t get in the end zone late in the game.
Plus, they took a lot of penalties in that time. If they are able to have a complete game, they could definitely do way more damage. Even though the Broncos aren’t a great team, the Buccaneers gave them way too many chances late in the game.
Tampa Bay is going into week four a 2-1 football team. Next Sunday, they host the Los Angeles Chargers who lost a close game to the Carolina Panthers. The Chargers go into Tampa Bay with a record of 1-2.
