The Tampa Bay Buccaneers closed out the preseason Friday night with an offensive performance they will quickly want to put behind them, falling 19-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium.
With Tampa Bay sitting its starters, rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels received an extended opportunity to make his case for a roster spot. But after leading five scoring drives over the first two preseason games, Daniels and the offense never found a rhythm. He completed eight of 15 passes for 57 yards,
was sacked three times and finished with nine rushing yards as Tampa Bay managed just 87 total yards.
The struggles went well beyond the quarterback position. The Bucs had trouble protecting Daniels, failed to establish the running game and committed a costly botched snap that handed Jacksonville possession deep in Tampa Bay territory.
Head coach Todd Bowles did not sugarcoat the performance afterward.
“Not good enough,” Bowles said. “Anytime you get shut out, you know. I didn’t think we protected the quarterback enough. We couldn’t run the ball. We gave up a special teams touchdown. The defense fought; they made some mistakes but at least they fought. I thought two out of the three phases didn’t show up.”
Tampa Bay’s defense provided several bright spots, including sacks from Anthony Nelson and Jack Pyburn, but the headlines belong to an offense that failed to score as the Bucs finished the preseason 2-1.
Several players will look at Friday’s night game as one they wish they can have back. Offensive linemen played poorly and receivers dropped pass which made the rookie quarterback’s stats look worse than what they should have been.
Daniels should still make the roster. Whether he is named QB2 remains to be seen.
