The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense deserves plenty of criticism for Sunday’s 33-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tampa Bay turned the ball over four times, with two of those turnovers becoming defensive touchdowns. Another potential touchdown disappeared when the Buccaneers turned the ball over in the red zone.
Buccaneers Defense Cannot Escape Responsibility
Those mistakes accounted for a significant portion of Tampa Bay’s problems. However, head coach Todd Bowles made it clear that the defense also contributed to the loss.
“Defensively, I’d be interested to know how many tackles we missed,” said Bowles. “We missed some chip-shot tackles to get the ball back at the end to give our offense a chance.”
Defense Failed When Tampa Bay Needed a Stop
The biggest issue came during Cincinnati’s final possession. The Bengals took over with 3:19 remaining while holding a 33-27 advantage.
Instead of giving Tampa Bay’s offense another opportunity, Cincinnati methodically closed out the game. The Bengals ran eight plays and picked up four first downs during the decisive possession.
That meant the Buccaneers never got the ball back. Tampa Bay’s offense made costly mistakes, but the defense failed to create one final opportunity.
Major Additions Struggled in Their Debuts
Two of Tampa Bay’s biggest offseason additions also struggled during the opener. Free-agent linebacker Alex Anzalone had a particularly difficult afternoon.
Anzalone missed three tackles and allowed seven receptions in coverage. His PFF grade was just 33.7.
First-round pick Rueben Bain also failed to make the impact Tampa Bay expected. Bain played 41 snaps, including 24 pass-rush snaps.
Despite those opportunities, Bain failed to record a single pressure. He also missed a tackle and struggled to get off blocks against the run.
Bain finished with a 40.1 PFF grade. That was another disappointing performance from one of Tampa Bay’s most important new defensive pieces.
Tampa Bay Needs Better From Its New Additions
Second-year cornerback Jacob Parrish also left the game after playing only 20 snaps. Tampa Bay entered the season expecting significant contributions from all three players.
None of them produced the impact the Buccaneers needed against Cincinnati. That makes Bowles’ criticism of the defense difficult to dispute.
The offense certainly created problems with its turnovers. Still, the defense had one final chance to keep Tampa Bay’s comeback hopes alive.
Instead, Cincinnati finished the game with the ball. For Bowles and the Buccaneers, that means the loss cannot be placed entirely on the offense.
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