The Bucs and Bengals kicked off their respective 2024 seasons on Saturday evening, ending the long wait for each fanbase to see them back on the field.

It was a defensive battle that came down to the wire, with Tampa Bay emerging victorious on the road, 17-14. With points hard to come by throughout, here were the most disappointing Bucs from the contest. Each will be looking for a bounceback performance next Saturday night when the team comes back to Florida to play the Jaguars.

OT Brandon Walton

Bucs OL Brandon Walton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Brandon Walton struggled mightily throughout the evening, with a couple of plays in particular standing out and hurting the momentum of the Bucs’ offense.

First, he was called for a holding penalty toward the end of the second quarter on what would have been roughly a 12-yard run by running back Sean Tucker that would have put the team in the red zone. Instead, it turned a second-and-3 into a second-and-13 the offense could not recover from. It played a part in getting no points on what was a solid drive until that point (more on that below).

That wasn’t all, though.

On a third-and-10 just after the two-minute warning, Walton allowed a sack as defensive end Jeff Gunter drove by him and combined with inside linebacker Shaka Heyward to take down quarterback Kyle Trask. On the play, he set shallow more like a guard, giving up the edge and being easily pushed back.

In the third quarter, he allowed a second sack, this time lining up as the left tackle. Rookie defensive end Cedric Johnson pushed him back right off the snap, creating the space to lunge at quarterback John Wolford to bring him down. Last but not least, he had a holding penalty on him declined in the fourth quarter as the Bucs turned the ball over deep in the red zone.

It was not a good day for the versatile offensive lineman, and one has to wonder if his spot on the 53-man roster is now in jeopardy.

CB Josh Hayes

Bucs CB Josh Hayes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Josh Hayes was mistakenly called for a 17-yard defensive pass interference call on the game’s opening drive that should have been on rookie defensive back Tykee Smith. He is not on the list for that, but for what happened two plays later.

Quarterback Joe Burrow targeted wide receiver Tee Higgins on a 5-yard out route in the red zone with Hayes heading downfield and in prime position to make the tackle. He missed, with Higgins strolling in for a touchdown midway through the first quarter.

Hayes is looking to claim one of the final cornerback spots after Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, and Bryce Hall. Plays like this will not help his cause, especially after Keenan Isaac had an impressive day capped off by a nice interception on Jake Browning in the first half.

CB Andrew Hayes

It was a bad day for cornerbacks with the last name Hayes.

This Hayes – Andrew Hayes – gave up two big plays in the fourth quarter, with the undrafted rookie getting beat by rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton for a 37-yard touchdown on a go route. This gave Cincinnati a 14-10 lead with less than four minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Then he was beaten again by Burton on a go route late in the game for 38 yards as they were looking to answer Tampa Bay’s late touchdown. It was not the way he wanted his name to be mentioned.

Bucs’ Pass Rush

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: USA Today

Plenty of hype surrounded the Bucs’ front seven – especially the young outside linebacker corps – after their last practice on Thursday.

It did not carry over on game day.

Not only did the defense not record a single sack, but they did not have any quarterback hits and pressure was rarely generated. Outside of a couple of pressures, Joe Burrow, Jake Browning, and Logan Woodside each had plenty of time to go through their progressions and find their wide receivers, although they did not make much of it.

For guys like Chris Braswell, Markees Watts, and Jose Ramirez, their time to shine is now and capitalize on the in-game reps while YaYa Diaby remains out with an injury and veterans Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson got the night off. They did not on Saturday, and they only have two more games this preseason to make the kinds of plays that will get them in the game when it counts.

K Chase McLaughlin

McLaughlin is usually money. That is why he cashed out on a three-year, $12.3 million deal in the offseason. He went 29-31 on field goals last season, including being seven of eight from 50 yards and greater.

When he went out for a 51-yarder after Walton’s penalty pushed them back, Tampa Bay hoped to still salvage some points on their drive. But McLaughlin’s kick dinged off the right upright, keeping it a 7-7 game. He put it past him with a 35-yarder in the third quarter to make it a 10-7 game and will look to get back on track with his next chance at a long field goal.

Bucs Rookie UDFA O-Linemen

An already-questionable left guard spot was thinned out further with Sua Opeta recently suffering a torn ACL and being out for the year. With Ben Bredeson now the starting left guard, it gave the undrafted free agent rookie Xavier Delgado a chance to see the field and make a name for himself.

Delgado did not fare well, getting pushed around in pass protection and not gaining a lot of leverage in the run game. He was not the only undrafted free agent rookie to have his share of struggles, as center Avery Jones allowed defensive tackle Travis Bell to notch an easy sack on John Wolford in the third quarter. Late in the game left tackle Lorenz Metz struggled and was called for a false start which made a game-deciding fourth-and-7 into a fourth-and-12 that almost came back to bite them.

While the Bucs’ starting offensive line is promising with rookie center Graham Barton looking as advertised coming out of college, the depth behind them is concerning. Not only did Walton not perform well, but a handful of rookies receiving playing time did not either.