The Bucs largely cruised in their 37-20 season-opening win over the Commanders on Sunday afternoon at Raymond James Stadium. But despite starting the new campaign 1-0, there is still some concern in Tampa Bay.

That’s because the Bucs defense was hit hard with injuries throughout the afternoon and evening. Already without two key starters along the defensive line in Calijah Kancey and Logan Hall for Sunday’s game, it was Tampa Bay’s secondary that was decimated by the time the game came to an end.

Bucs CB Bryce Hall Photo by: USA Today

First, it was third-year cornerback Zyon McCollum leaving the game early with a concussion. Then, just after halftime, it was announced that second-year corner and special teams ace Josh Hayes was ruled out for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury.

And then came yet another big blow, as veteran cornerback Bryce Hall — the Bucs’ No. 3 cornerback — suffered what looked to be a serious ankle injury that led to him being carted off the field. He had an air cast placed on his right leg and obviously wasn’t putting pressure on it when he was helped onto the cart.

Fox Sports’ Greg Auman reported after the game that he dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula.

And to make matters even worse, All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was seen wearing a boot on his right foot in the Bucs’ locker room after the game. He seemed to be in good spirits and could very well be OK, it’s still something concerning and worth monitoring as the week progresses and Tampa Bay’s Week 2 matchup in Detroit approaches.

Something to monitor as the week goes on: Bucs All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. had a boot on his right foot in the locker room after the game. Seemed to be in good spirits, but obviously worth keeping an eye on.

— PewterReport 🏴‍☠️ (@PewterReport) September 9, 2024

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles didn’t have any updates on the injury statuses of his defenders after Sunday’s game, but there is likely more to come on Monday and as the week goes on.

“We’ll see what the tests look like and then we’ll come back and evaluate that during the week,” Bowles said.

“Next Man Up” Mentality Proved Key As Bucs Rolled To A Week 1 Win

Bucs NCB Christian Izien – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

By the end of the game, Tampa Bay was down to just one healthy outside cornerback in Jamel Dean. That left Christian Izien, who started all 19 games inside at nickel corner as a rookie last year, to play outside for the first time since high school. He put forth quite the effort in doing so, too, even coming up with a key pass breakup on a Commanders’ third down shortly after he entered the game.

That’s the type of “next man up” mentality that often comes up in football and across sports. As cliche as it might feel, every team’s will and capability to adopt such a mentality is tested at some point. The Bucs saw that tested throughout the game at both cornerback and defensive line on Sunday, and it feels fair to say that they passed the test. Despite the injuries up front and the sudden need to thrust Izien into an unfamiliar role halfway through the game, Tampa Bay’s opening day victory was never really in doubt.

“He has not lined up at corner one day in training camp,” Bowles said of Izien. “But he plays nickel, so nickel and corner have the same jobs on certain things. Just hearing it from a different angle and the safeties helped out a lot. The DBs coaches did a good job getting him ready, and he did a good job.”

Izien received a lot of praise after the game, as did C.J. Brewer and Mike Greene, who were elevated from the practice squad on Saturday with Kancey and Hall missing the game and Earnest Brown IV on short-term injured reserve.

“I thought they did a heck of a job,” Bowles said in his post-game press conference. “‘Izzy’ at corner, and the rest of the guys coming up [from the practice squad] with Brewer coming up and Mike Greene coming up, those guys did a heck of a job inside along with Will [Gholston] and [Greg] Gaines playing out of position as well.”

Going forward, rookie cornerback Tyrek Funderburk will have to quickly get up to speed and be ready to go for Bowles’ defense. Tampa Bay will certainly hope McCollum works his way back quickly to reassume his No. 2 cornerback role, but it’ll be all hands on deck in the Buccaneer secondary to make sure the defense does its best to not miss a beat.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There may also be some added pressure and responsibility on the Bucs offense to do what they can to offset the short-handed defense if it has some persistent injury issues. That group did a good job of alleviating the stress on the defense in Sunday’s win, scoring 37 points and often putting together clock-killing drives. The offense had two seven-minute scoring drives in the game, which definitely helped.

“I think that you realize when guys are down on defense, you only carry — what, 46 active [players]? — there’s a limited amount of guys,” wide receiver Chris Godwin said. “So, if the defense is down on numbers, they can only do so much. So as an offense, you take the responsibility of trying to extend your drives.

“One, because you’re trying to score, but two, you don’t want to put your defense in a bad spot to be on the field for more plays than they need to because that puts them at a disadvantage. I think whenever you’re able to play complementary football, that’s when you’re at your best. So, we’re always trying to do that.”