The Tampa Bay Buccaneers jumped out to a big lead of 21-0 in the first half after the defense turned the ball over twice and Tom Brady found his rhythm with number one receiver Mike Evans. After the Panthers rallied back to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, Carlton Davis’ huge interception and Leonard Fournette’s clutch running in the fourth quarter gave the Bucs their first win of the season by a score of 31-17.

These were the most impressive players from the home opener.

FS Antoine Winfield Jr.
Winfield made plays all over the field on Sunday for the Bucs. His blitz/strip sack on Teddy Bridgewater was recovered by Jason Pierre-Paul, leading to a Bucs touchdown in the first quarter. Later on, Winfield made an outstanding open field tackle on Robby Anderson on third down that prevented Carolina from continuing the drive. Winfield ended his day with 11 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.

SS Jordan Whitehead
The safeties came to play today for the Bucs, as Whitehead had a bounce back game. After struggling in New Orleans a week ago, Whitehead turned the tides for the Bucs nabbing the first interception of the game on an overthrow from Bridgewater. Whitehead made his presence felt again with a big hit to start out the third quarter. Whitehead totaled five tackles, one tackle-for-loss and the interception in the win.

DT Ndamukong Suh
Suh was dominant in the middle on Sunday, causing a ton of pressure up front that led to him recording two sacks in the game. Suh showed a ton of hustle against the Panthers, including one play where he tracked down Christian McCaffrey and stopped him on a screen pass on third down. Suh finished with five tackles and two sacks in the Bucs’ victory.

CB Carlton Davis
Davis continues to ascend as not just the top corner for the Bucs, but one of the better corners in the league. One week after shutting down Michael Thomas, Davis came up with a momentum-changing interception in the fourth quarter with Carolina driving to possibly tie the game up. Davis played through a dislocated finger while making the play of the game for Tampa Bay. He recorded five tackles, one tackle-for-loss and two pass breakups to go along with an interception.

WR Mike Evans
Evans looked much healthier this week compared to last week when he was nursing a hamstring injury. On the first scoring drive, Evans caught a pass from Brady over the middle and went for 50 yards to set the Bucs up in the red zone for their eventual first score. He then had a touchdown on a 23-yard reception. Evans finished with 104 yards on seven catches and a touchdown.

QB Tom Brady
The box score will say that he only threw for one touchdown, but in reality, Brady should have had at least three. The biggest thing that did Brady in was drops by the Bucs’ receivers. LeSean McCoy dropped two passes, including one in the end zone. Scotty Miller dropped one in the end zone off a dime from Brady, and Cyril Grayson had the ball go off his helmet on a pass that would have put Tampa Bay in the red zone if not the end zone. Brady threw for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

RB Leonard Fournette
Fournette was the closer for the Bucs in the fourth quarter and made clutch plays to seal the deal for Tampa Bay’s first win. As the Bucs were looking to kill the clock while holding onto a seven-point lead, Fournette ripped off a 25-yard run that put the Bucs in field goal range for Ryan Succop’s 33-yard try to make it a two possession game. Faced again with trying to ice the game, Fournette busted a 46-yard touchdown run for his second score of the game, clinching the victory. Fournette ended up with 103 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns, also recording four receptions for 13 yards.