The Buccaneers stumbled and fumbled their season opener away to the Cincinnati Bengals, 33-27.
When you lose the turnover battle, you typically don’t win football games. There were some bright spots, however, and it starts with the Bucs special teams.
This was the first game in which new Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith had his first-team units together, and they did not disappoint.
After the struggles on special teams last season, Sunday’s performance was an encouraging start.
🏴☠️ Punt Coverage: N/A
Riley Dixon didn’t punt a single time, which normally is a very good thing.
Not much treasure to evaluate here, but the Bucs certainly won’t complain about having a clean sheet in the punt department.
🏴☠️ Punt Returns: Grade B
Tez Johnson returned the Bengals’ only punt 13 yards.
It wasn’t a game-changing return, but Johnson gave the Bucs solid field position and avoided any major mistakes.
🏴☠️ Kickoff Coverage: Grade A
This might have been the biggest special teams improvement of the day.
The Bucs kicked off five times, and the Bengals never reached the 35-yard line.
Considering how badly the Bucs struggled in kickoff coverage last season, and the fact that this was Danny Smith’s first regular-season game with his first-team coverage units, the results were impressive.
🏴☠️ Kickoff Returns: Grade A
The Bucs’ return game was outstanding.
K. Johnson: 5 returns, 27.4-yard average, long of 32
Josh Williams: 1 return, 47 yards
Kenneth Gainwell: 1 return, 22 yards
Team total: 7 returns for 206 yards — 29.4-yard average
The 47-yard return by Josh Williams was the big treasure of the bunch, giving the Buccaneers excellent field position and providing a major spark.
🏆 Special Teams Player of the Week
Josh Williams
Williams earns this week’s treasure chest after his 47-yard kickoff return helped set the tone for what was an impressive overall performance by the Bucs’ return units.
For a team that struggled badly on special teams last season, this was exactly the kind of opening-day performance Bucs fans were hoping to see from Danny Smith’s new-look units.
Final Special Teams Treasure: 🏴☠️💰 Kickoff coverage and kickoff returns both earned an A.
That’s a pretty good first voyage for Danny Smith.
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