When looking at the Bucs defense, there are the household names. Defensive tackles Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey are anchors upfront. Inside linebacker Lavonte David is still getting it done as he nears 35 years old. Cornerbacks Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean are a solid 1-2 duo. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is one of the best patrolling the field when healthy.

What has stood out the most during Tampa Bay’s four-game win streak is how other players have made an impact on games. With injuries at inside linebacker and both safety positions, it has been a group effort to shut down opponents.

The offense has put up plenty of points to make life easier for head coach Todd Bowles and his defense, but Bowles’ own creativity should not be understated.

Todd Bowles Has Had To “Go Into His Bag More”

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Out of necessity, head coach Todd Bowles has experimented on the fly and tinkered with his defense over the past few weeks. Injuries have riddled his defense all year, but in past weeks the cupboard has gotten more bare on a few different fronts.

After inside linebacker K.J. Britt went down early against the Panthers, J.J. Russell filled in and recorded five tackles. Then with Britt and Russell out the following week, the unit had to rely on Vi Jones playing 40 snaps in his first getting his first extensive action in an NFL game in a 28-13 win over the Raiders.

With Russell back against the Chargers, he played most of the snaps and did well against the run and in coverage. He finished with an 80.4 defensive grade per Pro Football Focus, the highest of any player on defense.

Safety Ryan Neal even got some run in the box and fared well. In spot duty, Neal made the most of his chances in his return and finished with a 78.1 defensive grade, which was the third-highest. Here he made a key open-field tackle that potentially saved some points.

Panthers WR Adam Thielen and Bucs ILB JJ Russell – Photo by: USA Today

It speaks to Bowles’ ability to design ways to get the most out of the players one would least expect. That included a 6-1-4 defensive package where the box was loaded against a team that liked to run heavy personnel. He spoke about that further this week.

“It takes away cut-back lanes, so to speak, inside,” Bowles said. “They’re an inside running team so if you pack more people inside, the less chance they have of running inside. Ryan [Neal] is a very good box player; he was a very good scrape guy when he was here so that was right up his alley and something he could do and we just try to maximize what we could do.”

Injuries made things like this possible, and co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote said Bowles likes the challenge.

“Absolutely,” Foote said about injuries sparking creativity. “I mean, in some crazy way, I think Coach Bowles liked it, because he can experiment more. He can go into his bag more. He’s coming up with wonderful schemes and probably [to] our advantage, they don’t know who they’re playing against the next week, or have the time to [think], ‘Hey, what’s that person’s weakness? How can we attack that individual?’

Bucs DT Logan Hall – Photo by: USA Today

“It helps to our advantage [and] just speaks to the leadership. You know, [Antoine] Winfield Jr. – he’s out – [Jordan] Whitehead, but they’re in there coaching and teaching, getting these young guys ready to play. The more you can do, we’re going to use you. [If you] have a skill set, we’re going to put you in a place that you can win for us.”

With Winfield and Whitehead out, reserve safeties Kaevon Merriweather and Christian Izien have admirably filled their shoes. After a cup of coffee on the Lions’ practice squad, Merriweather has returned and received a “lion’s share” of defensive snaps. He has played well, recording his first NFL sack against the Raiders and his first NFL fumble recovery against the Chargers.

One other unsung player that deserves mentioning is defensive tackle Logan Hall. While he may not be involved in the sack bet of who finishes this season with the most on the team, Hall has a career-high 4.5 sacks, 1.5 of which came against the Chargers. He has been a more consistent defensive cog in recent weeks.

“Logan has been playing very well,” Bowles said. “[I] love where he’s at playing the run. He’s incorporated a pass rush to his arsenal as well. He’s helped us out a great deal this year.”

Bucs Are “Just Used To” Injuries Now

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

This month has been the complete opposite of the last for the Bucs. After a four-game losing streak, they head to Dallas to face the Cowboys on a four-game win streak. Over that time, they have only allowed 15 points a game, a drastic improvement from earlier in the season. The boat was kept steady by its captain, even in times of frustration.

“It starts with the head man, Coach Bowles,” Larry Foote said. “We didn’t lose him. [He] was frustrated, [there was] a lot of injuries. I was sharing with Cris Collinsworth the other day – I’m just used to it now. Guys [are] going to be injured, guys are going to be injured, we’re going to be pulling guys off practice squads, we’re going to be getting guys back, and it’s the next man up. Our expectations [are] if you’re in there, we expect you to play at a high level.

“The guys stuck together [which] speaks to our leadership and we didn’t lose guys. It’s frustrating, especially – I think it’s the first time since we’ve been here that we’ve been getting lit up like that on defense early in the year so I love the way the guys responded and we have to keep it going.”

Bowles chose to give his players rest over the bye week, and he and the defensive coaching staff spent time behind the scenes assessing where they stood. Did that lead to any coaching adjustments?

“Not that much, really,” Foote said. “We just had to reset. I just know after we lost to the 49ers, [Coach] Bowles just set it straight [and] said, ‘Hey, our playoffs start now.’ And that was my message the other day to the guys, ‘Hey, we’re in the playoffs, so [we] can’t lose.'”

The Bucs have taken that message to heart and have a very real chance of running the table and winning the last seven games to finish 11-6. They will hope to first emerge victorious in the Lone Star State before coming home for Christmas and finishing off the season at home against the Panthers and Saints.

If all goes well, it is a product of the offense and defense playing complimentary football and fighting through adversity to make the playoffs.