The Bucs opened the 2022 regular season with a dominant 19-3 win over the Cowboys on Sunday night. It was a game controlled by the Tampa Bay defense, which held Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense to just 244 total yards and 3-of-15 on third downs.

“The guys did a great job in preparation, they went out there and made plays,” head coach Todd Bowles said after the game. “They were focused all week. The biggest thing was communication. Hats off to the guys, Devin [White] and Lavonte [David] led them with Vita [Vea]. All the guys, they were in sync, and I thought they did a great job tonight.”

Bowles, who served as the Bucs’ defensive coordinator from 2019-2021 before being promoted to head coach this offseason, got a special performance out of his defense against Dallas. But as far as the group is concerned, this performance shouldn’t feel out of nowhere. Rather, this is the standard they’ve set for themselves.

“We were swarming, playing Buc D,” outside linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka told Pewter Report. “That’s the standard. We set the standard. Going on, that’s what we’re going to have to play like.”

Tryon-Shoyinka found himself in the Cowboys’ backfield often throughout Sunday night’s game. Fellow outside linebacker Shaq Barrett was active as well, finishing with a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit. He finished with seven QB pressures, which matched his career high.

Rotational pass rusher Anthony Nelson picked up a sack, while inside linebacker Devin White came up with two sacks of his own. The Bucs finished with four sacks (with Vea adding the fourth late in the game) and eight quarterback hits.

That type of production is made possible by Tampa Bay’s interior defensive line, something Tryon-Shoyinka appreciates.

“Man, they make our lives so much easier,” he said. “They got the push, big dogs start pushing outside and [it] flushes them to us. It’s just camaraderie working as a defense. D-line, all of that, it’s just real fun.”

Bucs’ Secondary Plays Its Part In Setting The Standard

Bucs S Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

As productive as the front seven was for the Bucs on Sunday night, the secondary held up their end as well. And that’s putting it lightly. Tampa Bay held Prescott to 134 yards on 14-of-29 passing, intercepting him once. The man who came up with the Bucs’ first turnover of the year was Antoine Winfield Jr., and the third-year defensive back said after the game that a performance like the one they had can set the tone for how they move forward as a unit.

“It was a great start, a tone-setter,” Winfield said. “That’s the standard every week. We’ve just got to continue that trend.”

Winfield, now playing more in the slot as the team’s nickel corner, tallied six tackles (five solo) in addition to his interception. The defense as a whole came up with six passes defended, with Winfield, White, David, Mike Edwards, Logan Ryan and Carlton Davis all notching one.

Davis and Jamel Dean were especially impressive in the Bucs’ win over Dallas. The Cowboys’ top wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb, caught just two of his 11 targets on Sunday night for only 29 yards. Lamb is the same guy who 79 passes for 1,102 yards and six touchdowns on his way to the Pro Bowl last year. Davis told Pewter Report after the game that the secondary’s experience together can set them up to play at such a high level.

“We’re just made for it, if I’m being honest with you,” Davis said. “It’s been a long time coming. When you start to stack the years, the chemistry and just the development itself, this is what you get. We have a lot of good players in that back end and going forward, you’re going to see a lot more of that.”

Davis, Dean, Edwards and Sean Murphy-Bunting have all been together for four years now. The group has been with Winfield for three years. It’s unique to have a defensive backfield come together — and stay together — the way Tampa Bay’s has.

“The chemistry is there,” Davis said. “These guys are like my brothers now, so I know how they play the game. I know how they’re thinking. We’re just going to keep building off of this.”