It shouldn’t be just us fans in agreement, any person who even remotely enjoys the game of football should agree on this as well. The Buccaneers defense had an absolutely spectacular game Sunday against the Seahawks. A game we were expected to get walked all over in turned out to be this group’s best performance of the year.
Gerald Mccoy and Noah Spence both recorded 1.5 sacks. Robert Ayers, Kwon Alexander, and Ryan Russell each claimed one as well for a combined 6 sacks. Alterraun Verner kicked off the start of our turnovers with an interception just before the half, just 2 days after the tragic loss of his father.
Even when Martin fumbled the ball, giving the Seahawks their best field position of the night at their 41-yard line. Vernon Hargreaves III knocked the ball loose from TE Jimmy Graham allowing Lavonte David to recover the ball and return it to the Seattle 26 yard line.
We didn’t get to score on that opportunity, unfortunately, as Jameis Winston threw an interception to Kam Chancellor in the end zone. The Seahawks gained some momentum off of this turnover, and just when it looked like they might score their first touchdown of the night, Bradley McDougald delivered the finishing blow with 1 minute, 19 seconds left in the game.
After the back to back losses where this defense gave up over 1,000 total yards, Mike Smith, and the other defensive coaches decided to simplify some things to try giving the defense a little less to do at once. It seems like less is definitely more in this case because the Bucs defense looks entirely different these last 3 games than it has all year.