The Bucs had an ugly game in Jacksonville for their second preseason game of 2024, losing 20-7 to the Jaguars. With a lackluster offense and a defensive backfield that leaked like a sieve, here are the most disappointing players of the game.

P Jake Camarda

On his second punt of the game, Camarda had 59 yards of room to work with to keep the ball out of the endzone. Ultimately, he outkicked his coverage and launched a non-competitive boot into the end zone for a touchback. Camarda’s next punt of the night was inside of the two-minute warning in the first half. Backed up on his own 11-yard line, he needed a strong kick to prevent the Jaguars from mounting a quick scoring drive. He failed his mission. Capable of blasting 65+-yard shots, this one was just 48 yards to the Jaguars’ 41-yard line. Jacksonville would go on to steal a late field goal to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.

Camarda added two good punts on the night including his first which was downed at the Jaguars 11, but his motus operandi for his young career has been inconsistency and he did nothing in this game to quell those concerns.

CB Bryce Hall

Bucs CB Bryce Hall – Photo by: USA Today

Hall almost registered an impressive interception on the Jaguars’ first drive of the game, but he held Jaguars receiver Elijah Cooks out of Cooks’ break and was called for defensive pass interference. That not only negated the pick but also gave the Jaguars a new set of downs on a crucial third down.

On Jacksonville’s next drive, Hall was duped on a deep comeback route by rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for 14 yards on another third down, putting the Jaguars into field goal range and leading to a touchdown.

S Marcus Banks

The Jaguars’ first touchdown of the game came on a busted coverage. Playing out of a double-mug look, the Bucs dropped into an inverted Cover-2 look. Banks was supposed to be the pole runner who would have to pick up receiver Parker Washington’s seam route. Banks was out of position at the snap and impeded the bail of linebacker JJ Russell. He also failed to get over to Washington quick enough, leaving the easy touchdown for Washington and quarterback Mac Jones.

In the second half, Banks would miss a tackle on a short catch by Jaguars receiver Austin Trammell that Trammell was able to take for a total of 23 yards to set up an eventual field goal to make the game 13-7 in favor of Jacksonville.

Bucs Secondary

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In addition to Banks and Hall’s individual performances, the secondary in general did not look very good. On a night when the Bucs pass rush was consistently getting pressure, the back seven was just as consistently losing in coverage.

Late in the second quarter, defensive back Tavierre Thomas allowed too much separation on an out route by receiver Austin Trammell for a 20-yard catch and run. Later during that drive, he and cornerback Josh Hayes ran into each other while trying to defend a scissors concept that allowed Trammell to gain another 29 yards down to the Bucs 8-yard line and made a field goal all but a certainty.

On the Jaguars’ first drive of the second half, cornerback Andrew Hayes offered to add to the fray with a defensive holding penalty. Due to poor back-end coverage, the Bucs allowed the Jaguars to convert on seven third downs including distances of 15, 9, 17 and 10 yards.

Hayes (Andrew) had a small redemption arc in the fourth quarter when he forced receiver Seth Williams to fumble and Rashad Wisdom was able to recover the ball. To add insult to injury, Thomas was burned on a slot fade late in the fourth quarter for a 31-yard touchdown to put the Jaguars up for good.

OT Brandon Walton

If Brandon Walton as a tackle can be shortened to the term “fetch,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles and offensive coordinator Liam Coen need to stop trying to make “fetch” a thing (shout out Mean Girls). Walton is a solid run blocking depth interior lineman. But the Bucs continue to see if he can play on the outside, where he loses the edge and gets bullied by lengthy edge rushers time and again and added a holding penalty late for good measure.

Bucs Second-Half Offense

Quarterback John Wolford looked skittish and failed to try and either escape collapsing pockets or get rid of the ball. The offensive line got worked over by the Jaguars pass rush, leading to few opportunities for Wolford to find receivers. The pressure eventually led to Wolford taking multiple sacks and eventually leaving the game due to injury.

The run game stalled consistently, and the offense generated 12 yards on 12 plays while going three-and-out on the first three drives of the half. The fourth drive would prove marginally better, but only due to a Jaguars pass interference call.

Wolford was inaccurate and the offense, outside of Cody Thompson, looked wholly inept until Kyle Trask returned following Wolford’s injury and nearly led a scoring drive inside of the final two minutes of the game.