The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered the season believing their trenches would provide a major advantage.
As pointed out by Evan Winter of AtoZ Sports, the offensive line, defensive line, and EDGE groups were widely viewed as foundational pieces. Instead, those units became significant reasons Tampa Bay left Cincinnati with a loss.
The Buccaneers struggled to protect Baker Mayfield and generate consistent pressure on Joe Burrow. Their performance up front was arguably the weakest part of an otherwise competitive game.
Pass Protection Was the Biggest Offensive Problem
Tampa Bay’s offensive line has enough talent to become one of the NFL’s best units.
A healthy group should have legitimate top-five potential, perhaps even top-three potential. Unfortunately, Sunday’s performance against Cincinnati looked nothing like that.
The biggest problems surfaced whenever Mayfield dropped back to pass. Cincinnati barely needed to blitz to consistently disrupt Tampa Bay’s quarterback.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Bengals blitzed Mayfield on only 11.1% of his dropbacks. That ranked as the second-lowest rate through Sunday’s games.
Despite that limited pressure strategy, Mayfield still faced pressure on 38.9% of his dropbacks. He was also sacked four times, ranking fourth-worst among Sunday’s performances.
Tristan Wirfs acknowledged that he needed to play better after the game. The veteran offensive tackle specifically pointed toward one play where his assignment reached Mayfield too easily.
“I gotta be better. I gotta stay inside-out. I can’t, you know, let him have a free run to the quarterback at the top of the pocket,” Tristan Wirfs told reporters after the game. “So, you know, Bake needs to step into his throws, like to to make something happen, you know, in a situation like that. So I gotta stay locked on, and I got stay, you know, fixed on my guy.”
Wirfs wasn’t the only offensive lineman who had problems protecting Mayfield. Luke Goedeke lost his one-on-one matchup against Boye Mafe on the first fumble.
Mafe’s pressure helped trigger the turnover, making the matchup especially costly. Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson each surrendered three pressures across 39 pass-blocking snaps.
Bredeson also surrendered a sack, according to Pro Football Focus. Collectively, those struggles made life far more difficult for Mayfield than it needed to be.
The Running Game Offered Some Encouragement
The picture improved somewhat when Tampa Bay ran the football.
The Buccaneers didn’t exactly dominate Cincinnati at the line of scrimmage. However, the offensive front created enough movement to give Bucky Irving opportunities to find running lanes.
That represented a clear improvement over the team’s pass protection. Tampa Bay wasn’t consistently overwhelming the Bengals, but there were stretches where the blocking created legitimate opportunities.
Kenny Gainwell’s results were less encouraging. His struggles contributed to an inconsistent overall rushing performance.
Game flow also affected Tampa Bay’s ability to establish the run. Cincinnati’s lead naturally changed the Buccaneers’ offensive priorities as the game progressed.
Still, the run blocking provided something positive to build upon. Compared with the pass protection, it was easily the better part of Tampa Bay’s offensive-line performance.
Tampa Bay’s Pass Rush Was Equally Concerning
Unfortunately, the defensive front didn’t provide much more encouragement.
Tampa Bay’s first pressure on Joe Burrow didn’t arrive until roughly midway through the second quarter. The Buccaneers eventually recorded one sack, but it didn’t come until the third quarter.
That sack came on third-and-7 with 10:55 remaining in the third quarter. For a defense counting on its front to generate pressure, that was nowhere near enough.
The four-man rush struggled throughout the afternoon. Calijah Kancey led Tampa Bay with four total pressures, while Al-Quadin Muhammad followed with two.
Nobody else recorded more than one pressure. That group included Rueben Bain, who generated zero pressures across 24 pass-rush snaps.
Vita Vea, A’Shawn Robinson, Yaya Diaby, and the rest of the defensive front also failed to consistently disrupt Burrow. That’s especially disappointing given the expectations surrounding this group entering 2026.
The Buccaneers invested heavily in improving their pass rush. Week 1 provided little evidence that those improvements have arrived yet.
Run Defense Gives Tampa Bay Something to Build On
The defensive front did perform better when Cincinnati ran the football.
The Bengals finished with 106 rushing yards, but 25 came on only two plays. One of those plays came when Burrow checked into a draw that produced 12 yards.
Cincinnati’s running backs combined for 76 yards on 21 carries. That averages out to only 3.62 yards per attempt.
That’s a result Tampa Bay’s defense can accept, especially considering the circumstances. The Buccaneers also maintained that effectiveness after Cincinnati established a double-digit lead.
Normally, game script favors the running game when a team has a significant advantage. Tampa Bay still managed to limit Cincinnati’s backs despite those circumstances.
The run defense wasn’t flawless, but it provided a legitimate positive from an otherwise disappointing performance by the front seven.
The Buccaneers Need Their Trenches to Rebound
Football ultimately comes down to blocking, creating pressure, controlling the running game, and protecting the quarterback. Tampa Bay struggled in too many of those areas Sunday.
The Buccaneers have enough talent to correct those problems. The question is whether they can make those corrections quickly.
Week 2 against the Browns provides an immediate opportunity to change the narrative. If Tampa Bay’s trenches perform like they did Sunday, however, the results will likely remain the same.
The Buccaneers built much of their roster around winning up front. Now those units have to start playing like it.
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