The Bucs had a frustrating night in the preseason finale, falling to the Jaguars 19-0. It was an uninspiring performance by the Bucs offense as they were shut out and managed just 87 yards in the whole game. The defense certainly showed up to play, but there was only so much they could do to keep the game close.

Despite a tough look for many out there, there were some players that did in fact have some solid moments over others. Here were the most impressive players from the preseason-closing loss.

CB Ayden Garnes

It’s almost rinse and repeat at this point with Garnes. He’s a hard-nosed player who has great hustle. If the Bucs have to start him in a game or two this season, they won’t have to worry about him. He started off the game making a tackle on screen pass to Austin Trammell, getting by the potential blocker to take him down.

During the next drive, Garnes had a pass breakup in coverage while getting the better of Trebor Peña and knocking the ball away. Garnes has been a great surprise this preseason.

Bucs CB Ayden Garnes – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

OLB Anthony Nelson 

The veteran Nelson is still getting the job done. He recorded a sack on Nick Mullens in the first quarter, generating a good rush on the edge and came close to jarring the ball loose for a fumble. The played happened on third down, too, forcing a punt for Jacksonville. Nelson as a fifth-string edge rusher is fantastic depth for Tampa Bay.

DT Elijah Roberts 

Roberts was tied for second on the team in tackles when he was still in the game. He cleaned up a run stop on play where outside linebacker David Walker blew up the tight end, moving him into the backfield, and Roberts did the rest. His most impressive play, though, came when on a play action rollout by the Jaguars.

Bucs DT Elijah Roberts – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

With quarterback Nick Mullens rolling out and having a receiver open, Roberts was a free runner. He put his hands up to take away the pass lane while also moving in on him. Eventually he forced an errant throw while also pushing Mullens to the ground for a quarterback hit. Roberts is proving to be an important piece to this defense.

S Miles Killebrew

Known for his special teams prowess, Killebrew was getting it done Friday night at the safety position. He led the team in tackles in the first half with four and made some nice run stops throughout the evening. Killebrew is here to be a special teams ace. It doesn’t hurt that he gets some reps at tackling.

OG Luke Haggard

Bucs QB Jalon Daniels and OG Luke Haggard – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

The backup offensive line was terrible tonight, but Haggard was the only one who had a solid game. It was a rough outing for the offense, who didn’t score a point. However, Haggard was getting a good push at the line of scrimmage and was able to open up some holes in the running game.

CB Benjamin Morrison

He made it through the first half unscathed, making a tackle. Many Bucs fans had concerns about him even playing due to his injury history. Morrison looked pretty good in coverage, even making a pass breakup in the end zone on a fourth-down play. It’s a step in the right direction for a player who Tampa Bay needs available.

DT Josiah Green

Green started to disrupt the game in the second quarter, recording a sack on Jaguars quarterback Carter Bradley. Then, two plays later, he had another quarterback pressure, helping the Bucs get a stop. Green stepped his game up tonight with consistent pressure.

Bucs DT Josiah Green – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

ILB Caden Fordham 

In his pitch to make this team, Fordham made two important special teams tackles in punt coverage. Then, starting at linebacker, Fordham had great coverage on two plays in particular that forced incompletions. On one of them, he was covering the Jacksonville’s tight end on the right side, where they previously having success with and Fordham took away the passing lane.

Then, in the second quarter he went stride for stride with the back about 20 yards down the field, the pass was thrown his way and it went incomplete. It was a full game for Fordham Friday night.

P Riley Dixon 

With a lackluster effort by the Bucs’ offense tonight, Dixon was very busy. He punted the ball 10 times and didn’t screw it up. That’s really all you can ask for in that situation. Dixon had 487 punting yards, including two inside the 20 and a long of 56. He’s gotten a lot of criticism this preseason, so it was good to see him with a better performance. To cap it off, Dixon even made a tackle on one return to stop a touchdown.

OLB Jack Pyburn

The NIL money keeps going up for Pyburn. Jokes aside, he was exceptional in the fourth quarter, recording two sacks and another tackle for loss from the edge, as well as a pass breakup on a fourth down. That’s the second game this preseason where he’s had at least two sacks. It was a great effort by him to keep the Bucs in the game.