The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't gotten the start they wanted at 0-2, but one of the team's strongest position groups is still getting plenty of respect around the league. Tampa Bay's offensive line landed at No. 2 in Pro Football Focus' latest rankings following Week 2, trailing only the Denver Broncos.
Gordon McGuinness of PFF pointed to Tampa Bay's offensive tackles as one of the biggest positives coming out of Sunday's 23-19 loss to Cleveland. Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke each allowed just one pressure across 44 pass-blocking snaps, helping keep the Browns' pressure from doing more damage on the outside.
The interior of the offensive line didn't have nearly as much success. McGuinness noted that Ben Bredeson, Graham Barton and Cody Mauch
each finished with overall PFF grades below 60.0 against Cleveland, making the performance inside the biggest concern for a unit PFF still views as one of the league's best.
The Week 2 grades show just how different the performances were across Tampa Bay's starting five. Wirfs led the offensive linemen with a 77.2 overall grade and an 81.1 pass-blocking grade, while Goedeke earned a 73.9 grade in pass protection. Bredeson finished with a 48.4 overall grade, Barton received a 44.9, and Mauch came in at 38.0, according to PFF's Week 2 grades.
Even with those struggles inside, the Bucs found plenty of success on the football field. Tampa Bay rushed for 137 yards on 25 carries against Cleveland, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt. Bucky Irving accounted for 89 of those yards on 17 carries as the Bucs controlled the ground game despite eventually coming up short.
There is also some important context behind PFF's No. 2 ranking. McGuinness' methodology considers each player's performance over the previous three seasons when applicable, puts additional emphasis on pass protection, and gives slightly more weight to the two tackle positions. PFF also says its rankings during the first four weeks of the season will only be adjusted for lineup changes, given the small sample of current-season games.
That means Tampa Bay's ranking shouldn't be viewed as PFF saying the Bucs have produced the NFL's second-best offensive line performance through two games. It's an evaluation of the entire unit, and having Wirfs and Goedeke protecting the edges carries considerable weight under PFF's methodology.
The Bucs still have work to do up front, particularly after the way the interior performed against Cleveland. However, Tampa Bay has one of the league's premier left tackles in Wirfs, a strong right tackle in Goedeke, and a young center in Barton who remains an important piece of the team's future. With PFF ranking the group behind only Denver, the offensive line remains one of the brighter spots for a Bucs team still trying to earn its first win.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: PFF ranks Bucs offensive line among NFL's best despite 0-2 start
