The Bucs have had several players win Player of the Week awards throughout this season. On Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that another one had joined the list for his efforts during Sunday’s 20-17 win over the Cardinals.

Punter Riley Dixon was given the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week award after his performance helped the team control the field position battle and was vital throughout the game.

Bucs Punter Riley Dixon Has Rebounded After Early-Season Struggles

It was back in early October that Riley Dixon opened up about his initial struggles in a Bucs uniform. Signed last offseason to help shore up the punter position, his job quickly came into question after two blocked punts through the first four weeks. It was during that time Dixon shared his approach on punting and getting back to being the consistent player he was throughout his first nine seasons in the NFL.

Bucs P Riley Dixon – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Every day punting is the same, and every day punting is different,” Dixon told Pewter Report then. “Every day brings us new challenges, and that’s what I love about it. There’s always a challenge, and you’ll never figure it out fully. Everybody who says they figured it out, if that were the case, you’d play as if you were 50. Just try to keep those highs and lows closer and just be more consistent.”

Consistent Dixon was in Week 13.

He punted five times for a 48-yard average and a 46.8 net-yard average. That included pinning three punts inside the Arizona 20-yard line and two inside the Arizona 10-yard line. That 46.8 net average was his third-highest mark in a game this season, and the highest in a game in which he punted at least four times.

In addition, his efforts saw the Bucs rank first in the NFC in Week 13 for opponent starting field position after punts, limiting the Cardinals to an average of their own 12-yard line. On the season, Dixon’s 20 punts downed inside the opponent 20-yard line are tied for fifth-most in the NFL, while his eight punts downed inside the opponent 10-yard line are tied for sixth-most.

Now on the other side of what transpired early on, Dixon took time to share his thoughts following the news of his accolade.

“Just staying within yourself,” Dixon said about whether he has had a different mindset as of late. “Sometimes you try to do a little too much, try to go for the superhero shots when really, this game calls on you to do your best and put your team in the best position to secure field position. Especially in this stadium, there’s wind, there’s a lot of factors going into how much you want to bite off on each play and how much you’re capable of. Taking what it gives you at certain times. It takes a little bit of patience, but I’m learning as well.”

Ending that quote, a smile came across Dixon’s face, and for good reason. Not only has he put any doubt to rest about his claiming to being Tampa Bay’s punter, but his success at the position since entering the league speaks for itself.

Bucs P Riley Dixon – Photo by: USA Today

Since being a seventh-round draft selection by the Broncos in 2016, he ranks first in punts (717), punting yards (32,916) and net punting yards (29,718), while ranking third in punts inside the 20-yard line (251) and tied for fourth in punts inside the 10-yard line (90).

As it stands, Riley Dixon is now the fifth Bucs player to win a Player of the Week award this season and the third special teams player to win the award, joining Kameron Johnson in Week 1 and Chase McLaughlin in Week 8. Dixon is the first Tampa Bay punter to earn this honor since Jake Camarda did so in Week 2 of the 2023 season. This is the first time since 2009 that Tampa Bay has three Special Teams Player of the Week awards in one season – tied for the most in team history.

Information provided by the Bucs communications team was used in this story.