Help Is On the Way For the Buccaneers Defense
Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans seem to be in panic mode after last Thursday’s game, and probably for good reason: they just let Kirk Cousins, who admits he still isn’t 100 percent, throw for 509 yards, four touchdowns, with only one interception.
Remember When Kyle Pitts was struggling? The Buccaneers made sure that wasn’t a concern anymore for Falcons fans allowing the tight end to catch seven passes for 88 yards. Even KhaDarel Hodge, who hadn’t even been targeted yet this season, caught two passes for 67 yards and the game-winning touchdown. It was quite the contrast from two weeks ago when the Bucs defense found a way to hold Jalen Hurts to only 158 yards and a touchdown.
That was impressive, sure, but the norm for the Buccaneers seems to be closer to the Falcons game. Right now Tampa is giving up 22.8 points per game, which ranks 17th in the league, but that number could easily be worse. The Bucs defense is giving up 378.2 yards per game, the third-worst in the NFL.
These stats all prove the Bucs need to make some big changes… unless all they need is to just get healthy, which is happening as we speak. Before Thursday’s loss against the Falcons, general manager Jason Licht hinted that Antoine Winfield Jr. and Calijah Kancey could be back as soon as this week.
“I have a pretty good feeling that next week we have a good chance of getting them all back, not 100 percent, but a pretty good chance,” Licht told the Buccaneers Radio Network. “Get through this game, get a win and we’ll feel really good into next week.”
Even if they can’t get back for this week’s game against the New Orleans Saints, it should be soon. And whenever they do get back, they are the two perfect players to save this Tampa team.
The Bucs might just be tied for 16th in the NFL with 12 sacks, but they’ve got the fourth-most pressures with 54. Kancey is someone who should help turn those pressures into sacks, as he was good at getting to the quarterback last year. In his 14 games as a rookie in 2023, Kancey finished with 4.0 sacks and 12 QB hits. Those stats might not be eye-popping, but he only played 51.24 percent of the defensive snaps and again, was doing this while getting his feet wet in the league.
Then, of course, there’s Winfield, who to some people, is the Bucs defense. And watching how they’ve played since the All-Pro safety suffered an ankle sprain against the Washington Commanders… those people aren’t right, but they have a point. His absence has been deeply felt in the secondary and beyond.
Looking at PFF grades, Winfield ranked as one of the best safeties in all four facets of defense last year. In terms of run defense, tackling, and the pass rush he was in the top three, and he was eighth in coverage grade (84.0). When in man coverage, he allowed just 74 yards total and had a league-high 41.2% forced incompletion rate on third and fourth-down plays.
Compare those numbers to Christian Izien, who has been Winfield’s replacement this season and has performed admirably at times. So far this season, he has a coverage grade of 56.7, which is almost 30 points lower than Winfield. Against the Falcons in particular, he was flat-out awful, finishing with a coverage grade of 43.2.
The defense is a team game, and Winfield can’t cover the entire secondary by himself, but having their anchor back makes life easier. Wanna know what else makes the secondary easier? Putting more pressure on the quarterback, which is something that Kancey will do when he’s healthy again.
The defense doesn’t have to be perfect, not if Baker Mayfield and the offense continue to produce like they have. But we saw on Thursday that what Tampa has had since Week 1 isn’t enough. Both Winfield and Kancey should be healthy by the time the Bucs have their rematch with Atlanta in Week 8. We can expect the defense to have different results in Round 2.
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