Week 1: Weekly Defensive Review: Bucs' Stops Fall Short Against Bengals

ehinote · 2026-09-14T14:27:06Z

Welcome to a new weekly feature that will focus on one key statistic: the number of defensive stops made by the Bucs in the previous game. While this metric doesn't tell the entire story, it provides an insightful perspective on defensive performance. This analysis isolates defensive output, unaffected by the offense or special teams’ performance. Whether the offense scores five touchdowns one week or gets shut out the next, it won’t alter this assessment.The analysis includes total drives, with success defined as a drive stopped without yielding points (either a touchdown or field goal). A stop can occur through various means: forcing a punt, creating a turnover, achieving a safety, or a turnover on downs. The stop rate is calculated by dividing the number of stops by the total number of drives in the game.Summary:Drive Qtr Time Result Pts Stop? Stop Type1 Q1 9:09 Punt (3 and out) 0 YES Punt2 Q1 1:51 TD (Gesicki, 2 yd) 7 no —3 Q2 5:35 TD (C. Brown run, 5 yd) 7 no —4 Q2 0:10 FG (McPherson, 20 yd) 3 no —5 Q3 10:08 FG (McPherson, 55 yd) 3 no —6 Q3 2:24 INT (Trotter, Int TD) 0 YES Turnover (INT)7 Q4 14:09 FG (McPherson, 58 yd) 3 no —8 Q4 5:23 FG (McPherson, 32 yd) 3 no —9 Q4 3:19 Run out the clock 0 no None (clock-kill)FINAL WORD: THE DEFENSE NEEDS TO FORCE MORE STOPSHere’s a number that stings: our defense only managed to stop 2 of Cincinnati's 9 offensive possessions (22.2%). The stops included a punt on the opening series and Jeremiah Trotter's pick-six. Everything else resulted in points, or Cincinnati simply running out the clock in the final minutes of the game, leaving us without the ball. In stark contrast, Cincinnati's defense successfully halted HALF of our drives (4 of 8)... all ending in turnovers.Yes, the Bucs offense was a turnover machine, and more will be covered about their deficiencies later, but the defense must get better at getting stops if we hope to be successful this year. This has been a common theme of Bowles' defenses for years.

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ehinote

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Posted by: @badabingbucs

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now you’re getting it

once you accept the fact that Bowles should have been fired in January and that the team is poorly run, you can take the blinders off that everything is Bowles fault

No, I got it years ago. I’ve talked about lack of pass rush, horrible soft zones, and lack of defensive adjustments for 4 years. That we would need to be a top 5 offense and how bad of a decision it was to not replace Bowles with Coen before it happened. None of what I’ve been saying has missed. It gets a more and more noticeable to everyone else every season.

Posted : Sep. 14, 2026 12:36 pm

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Week 1: Weekly Defensive Review: Bucs' Stops Fall Short Against Bengals

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