Despite a three-game losing streak after the bye week, the Bucs are still above .500 at 6-5 and have a half game lead over the Panthers in the NFC South. Tampa Bay returns home for a three-game home stand where the team needs to right the ship and make a playoff push in December and January.

The Bucs will face three lesser teams against the 3-8 Cardinals, the 2-9 Saints and the 4-7 Falcons over the next three weeks. All of those teams will be starting backup quarterbacks, too. Tampa Bay can pick up some more NFC wins, which will help when it comes to playoff seeding in the conference, and victories over New Orleans and Atlanta can help the team reclaim the NFC South crown for a fifth straight season.

Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds takes a look at six Buccaneers who need to step up on offense and defense over the last six games of the season if the team is going to win the division again and make the playoffs for a sixth straight year. We kicked it off with six players on offense on Thursday, and now it’s time to list the six defensive players who need to step up.

6 Bucs Who Must Step Up Over The Final 6 Weeks: Defense

CB Zyon McCollum

Zyon McCollum’s selection for this list is incredibly obvious, isn’t it? McCollum gave up two touchdowns to Rams receiver Davante Adams in Los Angeles on Sunday Night Football in a 34-7 loss last week. He’s now surrendered five touchdowns this season, according to Pro Football Focus, which is a career high. And there’s still six games left in the 2025 campaign.

Rams WR Davante Adams and Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: USA Today

McCollum’s problems this year are from the neck up, according to head coach and defensive play-caller Todd Bowles, who says the team’s highest-paid cornerback “gets bored” at times and “guesses wrong” at other times. It could stem from a lack of confidence from getting beat for big plays and touchdowns this season, or it could be the pressure he’s feeling from the three-year, $48 million contract extension he signed back in August.

McCollum needs to start living up to the expectations that came with that financial investment. First, he needs to be the shutdown cornerback the team believes he can ultimately be. That means stop giving up big plays. After that, he needs to focus on making plays. McCollum has yet to record an interception this season and only has five pass breakups in 2025.

FS Antoine Winfield Jr.

Antoine Winfield Jr. is having a bounce-back season after missing about half of last year due to foot and knee injuries. But with just six games left, Winfield is not making the plays he’s accustomed to making and weeks have gone by before he’s truly made his presence felt on the gridiron. Winfield made several splash plays in Tampa Bay’s 23-3 win at New Orleans in Week 9, grabbing his first interception of the season and recovering a fumble.

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield Jr. and Patriots WR Stefon Diggs – Photo by: USA Today

But it’s been crickets from Todd Bowles’ chess piece since then. Through 11 games this season, Winfield has just one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and five pass breakups. And he gave up a critical touchdown on fourth-and-goal against New England right before halftime that gave the Patriots a lead they would not relinquish. More is expected from Winfield, who is in the second year on a contract extension that averages $21.025 million per year.

If Tampa Bay is going to finish strong down the stretch, hang on to the lead in the NFC South and make the playoffs, Winfield is going to have to play a more prominent role as a playmaker in the secondary. Since the bye week, he’s broken up a couple of passes, but has only registered 15 combined tackles in the Bucs’ three losses. Winfield has had a good season, but not the kind of Pro Bowl-caliber season the team expects from him so far.

OLB Haason Reddick

The addition of Haason Reddick this offseason has not gone according to plan. Through the first seven games of the season, Reddick was good – but not great – at pressuring opposing quarterbacks, notching just 1.5 sacks before getting injured at Detroit. Reddick has missed the last four games due to ankle and knee injuries, but is expected to return to action soon – perhaps on Sunday versus Arizona. Despite not being the impact player the team hoped it was getting, Reddick is better than Anthony Nelson or Chris Braswell when it comes to rushing the passer.

Bucs OLB Haason Reddick – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Yet at age 31, Reddick looks closer to being the one-sack guy he was in 10 games with the Jets last year than he was the double-digit sacker he was the two previous seasons with the Eagles. He certainly hasn’t been the difference-maker Tampa Bay was expecting when it gave him a one-year, $14 million contract in free agency.

Reddick is playing for a new contract elsewhere down the stretch, as the Bucs likely won’t re-sign him when he’ll be 32 next year. He needs to return to action and make as many plays as he can in December and January to not only help Tampa Bay’s defense get to the quarterback, but also help his chances for one last decent payday in free agency next March.

CB Jamel Dean

The Bucs forced Jamel Dean to take a paycut in the offseason due to his penchant for getting injured and failing to make plays on the ball the two prior seasons. In exchange for taking the pay cut, Dean’s final year of his contract was shaved off, making him a free agent in 2026. Dean is certainly playing like he’s in a contract year, as he’s having his best season since he was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2019.

Bucs CB Jamel Dean and OLB Yaya Diaby – Photo by: USA Today

Dean leads the team with three interceptions, which is a new career high for him, including a pick-six. He also has two forced fumbles and a sack, and Dean is having the kind of season the Bucs expected Zyon McCollum to have when he signed his three-year deal worth $16 million per season. Dean has been the Bucs’ best cornerback and he needs to continue t0 play like it once he gets back in the lineup.

While Dean has suddenly become a playmaker this year, he has failed to stay injury-free. He’s missed the majority of three games this year, including the last two after injuring his hip in the first minutes of action at Buffalo in Week 11. Dean is expected to return on Sunday against Arizona and needs to get back to creating takeaways for a Bucs defense that has stalled out in that area. Getting another interception or forced fumble down the stretch not only helps Tampa Bay, but helps Dean’s cause in free agency in March.

DT Elijah Roberts

I’ve gotten on defensive tackle Vita Vea for not making enough plays as a high-priced Bucs defender, making an average of $17.75 million per year. Vea hasn’t recorded a sack since notching half a sack against San Francisco in Week 6. While he needs to step up, so does rookie Elijah Roberts in the last six weeks of the season.

Bucs DT Elijah Roberts and 49ers QB Mac Jones – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Roberts, the team’s fifth-round pick, has shown some real promise as an interior pass rusher with two sacks this season, in addition to three tackles for loss. The SMU product has received as much playing time as veteran Logan Hall in place of Calijah Kancey, who has been on injured reserve since suffering a pectoral injury in Week 2. Roberts has more upside than Hall and needs to finish his rookie season strong.

If he can continue to make some impactful plays – he has three pass breakups at the line of scrimmage and has recovered a fumble, for example – it will only help his development for next year when he should be even better, as well as helping the Bucs win the NFC South again. Roberts has had a more successful rookie season than Hall, a former second round pick, had in 2022. That’s impressive considering he is making a tough transition from being an edge rusher in college to an interior defensive lineman in the pros.

ILB SirVocea Dennis

SirVocea Dennis has shown some improvement since a rough start to his first season as a starter at middle linebacker in Tampa Bay. Dennis has stayed healthy, which is something he struggled with in first two years with the Bucs, and his play in coverage has also improved. Where the Bucs need to see Dennis make strides is in the play-making department.

Bucs ILBs Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: USA Today

Dennis has notched a couple of sacks this season and recorded his first interception off a tipped pass at Buffalo. But the Bucs need to see him force some fumbles and make more plays on the ball in coverage. So far this year, Dennis has been solid, but not spectacular playing alongside an aging Lavonte David. David needs to step up down the stretch too, but his time in Tampa Bay is coming to an end whereas Dennis needs to create a future for himself in red and pewter.

With David likely to retire after this season as he turns 36 in January, Dennis needs to prove that he can be a reliable starter moving forward in 2026. Right now, the Bucs probably feel like they’ll need to find two starters next year, one to replace David and one to possibly supplant Dennis. It’s up to Dennis to change the minds of the Bucs’ brass and show he can be a playmaker for Todd Bowles’ unit in the six games left in the 2025 regular season.