When a team starts 1-4 over their first five games it is genuinely hard to find any unit worth praising. When you are 0-4 you are pretty bad in every phase of the game. That was absolutely true of this Buccaneers team through four weeks. But even at the lowest point of this season, there have been glimpses of genuine defensive football from time to time. And after Thursday night in Dallas, that conversation deserves a real look.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SCHEDULE FIRST
Before we fully celebrate what this defense has done, some honest context is necessary. The Buccaneers' first five opponents have not exactly been an offensive murderers' row.
The Bengals have the pieces for a high-flying offense with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown — but they have not gotten off the ground offensively consistently this season. The Browns have won some games, but their offense has been far from the catalyst for those victories. The Vikings have a winning record but may have fielded the worst offense of any team the Bucs have faced all year. And the Packers have stumbled offensively throughout the entire early portion of the season.
Of all five opponents, the Dallas Cowboys were supposed to be the real test. Dak Prescott was slinging it. CeeDee Lamb was borderline unstoppable. They had George Pickens, Javonte Williams, and Jake Ferguson as supporting pieces around them. There was no way the Buccaneers were going to slow down Jerry Jones' high-priced offensive show. Everyone said so. Nobody had Tampa Bay winning that football game.
And then the Buccaneers went out and won it.
WHAT THE DEFENSE ACTUALLY DID THURSDAY NIGHT
Let's be fair about how the win happened. Bucky Irving was extraordinary, rushing for 165 yards behind a wide zone scheme, and finally back to some gap scheme that finally worked the way Robinson drew it up. Clock control and field position kept the Cowboys' offense on the sideline for significant stretches. The offense helped this defense enormously by shortening the game.
But the defense also earned its share of the credit. They forced multiple punts. They generated two critical interceptions off Dak Prescott that directly changed the game's momentum. The special teams recovered a fumble in the second half. And when this defense needed to make a stop to protect a lead, it made one.
The defense came to play Thursday night. It had something to prove. And it delivered when the moment demanded it.
BUT IS IT REAL? I'M STILL NOT SURE
Even after Thursday's performance, I am genuinely unsure what to expect from this defense over the next several weeks.
Dak Prescott threw for 316 yards and a touchdown despite the loss. The turnovers did the real damage, not consistent pressure from the pass rush. Can this defense continue to generate the game-deciding turnovers it needs without developing a reliable pass rush to create them organically? That is the question I cannot answer with confidence right now. Of the last several Buccaneers seasons, this one is the most confusing to evaluate from a defensive standpoint.
We have no consistent pass rush. That is a fact. But the pass defense hasn’t been bad. The Bucs are not surrendering big plays over the top. And the bend-but-don't-break philosophy, as maddening as it can be, may actually be a reasonable scheme matchup against the next three opponents on the schedule.
Think about it this way. Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers could find themselves forcing throws against a defense that refuses to give up the big play. Bryce Young and the Panthers could see one too many jump balls thrown toward Tetoria McMillan that end up in a defender's hands. Patient quarterbacks beat bend-but-don't-break defenses. Impatient ones hand them games. Whether our upcoming opponents have that patience is genuinely worth watching.
THE BOTTOM LINE
This defense is starting to develop something resembling an identity. Bend but don't break. Physical against the run. Not giving up the deep ball. Opportunistic in the turnover department. It is not an elite identity by any stretch of the imagination, but it is something. And something is better than nothing.
Some offenses will absolutely take advantage of this strategy as the season progresses. Better quarterbacks with more patience will find the soft spots and exploit them. But for the next few weeks, against the Steelers and the Panthers especially, the bend-but-don't-break approach might be just good enough.
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Yes
if offense can score the elusive 23 +, we will win most of our games
Unfortunately the offense has not done that much since the baker slump post 49ers game last year
And the bend-but-don't-break philosophy, as maddening as it can be, may actually be a reasonable scheme matchup against the next three opponents on the schedule.
Eager to see the next three
D has played well but we have had our d play on and off good football before. Consistency was always the issue there. What usually happens is we hit a wall in the middle of the season where it seems like the d is figured out and he doesn't adjust.
He's still an awful hc but I did feel happy for Bowles the person the other night. Not sure if it was what happened but looked like he has a weight lifted off his shoulders after that win.
