PFF grades reveal Bucs’ best and worst against the Vikings

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense did more than enough to give the team a chance against the Minnesota Vikings. The offense couldn't take advantage of it, and the grades from Pro Football Focus reflect that difference. Tampa Bay fell to 0-3 with a 23-16 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, but the defense h

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What is the story about?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defense did more than enough to give the team a chance against the Minnesota Vikings. The offense couldn't take advantage of it, and the grades from Pro Football Focus reflect that difference.

Tampa Bay fell to 0-3 with a 23-16 loss to Minnesota on Sunday, but the defense held the Vikings to 230 total yards. The Bucs struggled to find the same success on offense, finishing with 243 net yards while Baker Mayfield was sacked six times.

A'Shawn Robinson earned the highest PFF grade on Tampa Bay's defense with an 88.2. Robinson played 30 defensive snaps and finished with three assisted tackles while also coming down with an interception after Vita Vea deflected a Kyler Murray pass at the line of scrimmage. Robinson also earned a 76.4

run-defense grade and a 71.8 tackling grade.

Christian Rozeboom wasn't far behind with an 81.0 overall grade over 30 defensive snaps. Antoine Winfield Jr. finished third at 79.1, including an 84.2 run-defense grade and an 80.6 tackling grade.

Keionte Scott continued his strong start to the season with an overall grade of 77.7. Elijah Simmons rounded out the Bucs' five highest-graded defenders at 75.2, though he played just nine defensive snaps.

The bottom of Tampa Bay's defensive grades included a few notable names. Calijah Kancey finished last among the 18 defenders listed with a 40.3 overall grade, while SirVocea Dennis received a 41.7. Jacob Parrish, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Yaya Diaby rounded out the bottom five with grades of 55.4, 57.7 and 59.2, respectively.

Things weren't nearly as impressive on offense, where no Buccaneers player earned an overall grade of 70.0 or better.

Chris Godwin led the offense with an overall grade of 66.2. Godwin caught three passes for 25 yards, but his final stat line could have looked much different. Mayfield connected with him for what would have been an 85-yard touchdown in the third quarter, only for the play to be erased by a holding penalty.

Ben Bredeson was Tampa Bay's second-highest graded offensive player at 65.8 and received an 83.7 pass-blocking grade. Emeka Egbuka followed at 65.4 after leading the Bucs with five catches for 62 yards.

Luke Goedeke and Tristan Wirfs finished the offensive top five with overall grades of 62.4 and 61.4, respectively. Both tackles graded considerably better in pass protection, with Goedeke earning a 76.1 pass-blocking grade and Wirfs receiving a 79.3.

Mayfield finished sixth on offense with a 61.0 overall grade. He completed 17 of 34 passes for 217 yards, one touchdown and one interception before suffering a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand late in the fourth quarter.

At the other end of the offensive rankings, Payne Durham received Tampa Bay's lowest overall grade at 28.4. Kenneth Gainwell was next at 49.5, followed by Cade Otton at 53.0, Bauer Sharp at 54.5 and Tez Johnson at 55.8.

PFF grades aren't the final word on how a player performed, but the numbers align with much of what played out on Sunday. Tampa Bay's defense kept the Bucs within striking distance for most of the game, while the offense struggled to turn its opportunities into points.