The Buccaneers sneaked away with another preseason victory Saturday, skating past the Kansas City Chiefs, 16-15, at Raymond James Stadium.
Several starters got some run this week, with mixed results. The offense looked inert, really just out there for some light exercise before exiting with two 3-and-out drives. The defense looked much better, completely stoning the Chiefs on both drives.
The actual result was more about the Chiefs losing the game than the Bucs winning it, but that’s really secondary
to the individual performances, which we’ll highlight now.
Winners
Rueben Bain Jr.
The Buccaneers’ first-rounder, widely considered a steal by many at 15th overall, took the field for his first NFL action and he wasted no time creating a viral highlight.
He played less than 10 snaps, but one of those included a vicious pass rush rep to put immediate pressure on Justin Fields on third down. Now it was against undrafted tackle Khalil Benson, who Bain coincidentally terrorized in the National Championship Game, so context does matter, but you can only win the matchups you’re given so it’s still encouraging. He also showed instincts dropping in coverage and displayed his trademark relentless motor, all good signs.
Reports about Bain, from practice to joint scrimmages to after-hours workouts, have been nothing but stellar. Expectations are high, and that highlight will only stoke more excitement.
Jalon Daniels
At this point, the at-large conversation is less about if Daniels is making the 53-man roster and more about if he deserves to be the primary backup QB.
In two games, Daniels has looked promising in both, delivering bullet strikes, using his legs to create, and generally sparking an offense that has lacked vigor under anyone else.
Down 9-0 at halftime, Daniels came in and led three straight scoring drives to deliver the Bucs another W — the second straight game he’s sparked a comeback.
He threaded the needle on a rollout to Ko Kieft for an impressive touchdown, highlighting a great night where he finished 9-of-14 for 71 yards and a touchdown to go along with 7 rushes for 19 yards.
It feels unlikely that he’ll surmount Jake Browning as QB2 since the latter has real-game experience (10 career starts) — that matters in the NFL — and Daniels needs more polishing in a professional scheme (he had multiple fumbled snaps from under center), but it’s impressive that Daniels has even prompted people to wonder if he deserves the role instead.
The Defense
In two games, the Buccaneers defense definitely feels refreshed for the better.
Many starters got their first reps of the preseason and looked good, from the edge rushers to the secondary. In two drives, the Bucs forced two easy 3-and-outs which saw the Chiefs gain just 13 total yards. Bain and Yaya Diaby got their moments, and Tykee Smith came screeching in on a blitz to create immediate pressure.
Rookie nickel Keionte Scott showed up on an authoritative run stop, David Walker generated multiple pressures and Anthony Nelson even created a strip sack, and UDFA Ayden Garnes continued showing up in a positive way with a pass breakup.
In general, the defense just looks more energized and focused through two preseason contests, allowing less than 17 points in both. If Todd Bowles can deliver a more fundamentally sound, aggressive unit, the team’s fortunes should be much improved.
Dean Patterson and Kam Johnson
On a night where the Bucs held out four of their top options in Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan, and Tez Johnson, the prime opportunity existed for the depth receivers to make their cases for sticking around.
Two names stood out in particular, those being Dean Patterson and Kam Johnson. The latter was the team’s primary punt returner last year and he did well in that role, generating an above-league-average 11.2 yards per return —good for top 10 in the league.
He showed more of that juice last night, creating a 23-yard scamper on one return. He also contributed 4 catches for 56 yards to co-lead the team, making a solid case to continue sticking around as WR6.
That said, Patterson, an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, has looked promising in both games. He notched a team-high 6 catches for 56 yards Saturday, including an impressive toe-touch snag for 24 yards. The 6-2 Tampa native is likely on the outside looking in no matter what, but what he is doing is forcing his name to the top of the list for the practice squad over other names like David Sills, Dennis Houston, Eric Rivers, and Garrett Greene.
Losers
Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak
Browning is more a loser in the sense he got absolutely destroyed.
On his second dropback, a practically uncontested sack left him laid out on the Raymond James grass and sent him into concussion protocol (which he cleared). He received another massive hit later in the game that created a forced fumble.
But still, he didn’t look polished or precise enough to tamp down any mounting hype surrounding Daniels. The fact that he’s even having to answer questions about a quarterback competition when he signed a $1.3 million contract with $400k guaranteed does say something. He will need to look good against the Jacksonville Jaguars in joint practices and game action to inspire more confidence moving forward.
Meanwhile, Bazelak is toast.
He did not play at all on Saturday one week after looking significantly worse than Daniels. It doesn’t really matter what the reason was, Bazelak not being able to stymie Daniels’ momentum only worsens his chances of staying with the team. Keeping four QBs seems unlikely, so the second-year signal caller feels destined for the waiver wire.
The Offensive Line Depth
This was an ugly, ugly game for the offensive line depth.
The low light of that ugliness was Marshall Foerner getting absolutely dusted and putting Browning in protocol, which practically signed the former’s death warrant when it comes to staying with this team in any serious capacity after next week.
Elijah Klein looked rough again, and multiple players (namely fourth-string left tackle Paul Rubelt and Luke Haggard) had costly penalties via false start and holding.
When these guys are trying to make their case for the final depth spot and practice squad slots, this ineptitude is not the way to do it. The primary depth should be in a better position with names like Ben Chukwuma, Dan Feeney and rookie Billy Schrauth, but you’d really like to see better out of their competition.
