The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the 2026 season opener surrounded by plenty of preseason optimism. Instead, they delivered an ugly performance that exposed major problems across the team.
The Buccaneers fell to the Bengals 33-27, that can only mean it’s time for Carter Brantley’s weekly article, “Captain’s Table / Walk The Plank”. Enjoy!
Walk The Plank:
Baker Mayfield
Three fumbles. One of them, scooped and returned for a touchdown. The other was in the end zone of the Bengals. All three were completely avoidable. The first was simply him trying to make too much out of nothing. He should have gotten rid of the ball much sooner. The second was also him trying to make too much out of something, but at least I guess he was trying to score a touchdown. But, they were so close to the end zone the fact that he wasn’t able to have the presence of mind to just get down and avoid any trouble is mind-boggling. He was one of the worst players on the field today and was probably the biggest reason the Buccaneers came away with a loss in a very winnable game.
Alex Anzalone
If you heard Mike Gesicki’s name over and over again, it was mostly because Alex Anzalone had one of his worst games in the NFL. The veteran from the Lions was supposed to be excellent in coverage, a good compliment to rookie Josiah Trotter. And yet the former Florida gator looked absolutely lost. The Bengals managed to win this game despite Ja’Marr Chase having little to no impact on the outcome. Anzalone can be pointed to as the culprit behind this outrageous development.
The Pass Rushers
More specifically, YaYa Diaby and Rueben Bain, Jr. Neither had the sort of impact that anyone was looking for to begin the year. It was an absolute dud of a performance for both guys and it’s a pretty huge disappointment because they’re supposed to be leading the defense to a much better year. Instead, Trotter came up with the loan sack for the Buccaneers. That cannot happen.
Captain’s Table:
I Got My Laundry Done
This isn’t Bucs-related, but I’m so proud of myself so I wanted to brag about it, especially since it was such a bummer of a game.
The Secondary
Most people might look at the Bengals scoring 33 points and think “Oh, the secondary must’ve gotten torched again.” Surprisingly, that’s actually not what happened Sunday afternoon. Zyon McCollum was fine, Benjamin Morrison was surprisingly competent, and Jacob Parrish was good up until the moment he got hurt.
Emeka Egbuka
Last season didn’t end on the highest note for the Ohio State man. His rookie season overall was still pretty good, but he struggled with drops and getting separation consistently at the end of the year. So while 5 catches for 63 yards isn’t Earth-shattering, it’s at least a good start.
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