The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a breakout performance in their 43-13 blowout win over the Carolina Panthers, but YaYa Diaby had a career game.
The Buccaneers dominated the trenches on both sides of the ball. Tampa Bay controlled the pace from the start and never trailed, amassing 258 rushing yards on 5.4 yards per carry. Three running backs posted at least 52 rushing yards, led by Bucky Irving with 106.
However, the defense equally dominated, holding the fourth-ranked offense in the NFL to just 13 points. Bryce Young, who had been in potential MVP talks, struggled and arguably had his worst game of the season, posting 163 passing yards and a 51.9 passer rating.
The 27-year-old Diaby was a big reason for that, racking up a career-high three sacks
in the win over the Panthers. By comparison, Diaby had seven sacks last season and 19 sacks over his first three seasons.
Head coach Todd Bowles gave the fourth-year pass rusher major praise after the game, along with Calijah Kancey, who recovered a fumble in the win.
"Their time's coming," Bowles told reporters after the game about Diaby and Kancey. "Their time's coming, and it happens just like it happened today. We talked about it a couple days ago about them getting pressure and not making results. Today, they had results on it, we just got to keep at it, and everybody else sacrificed for that. But YaYa had a heck of a day."
The Buccaneers started the season slowly on defense, but they've picked up the pace in recent games. Over their last three games, Tampa Bay ranks eighth defensively, allowing 18.3 points per game. By comparison, they allowed 26.3 points per game in their first three games.
Their effort was so dominant that Baker Mayfield, returning from a three-game injury absence, only had to throw the ball 11 times for 64 passing yards. It was only the third time in franchise history that the Buccaneers needed so little from the passing game to win.
The Buccaneers will look to ride that momentum when they take on the Atlanta Falcons at Raymond James Stadium in Week 8. If Tampa Bay can knock out Atlanta, they'll inch past them for second place in the NFC South.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Todd Bowles sounds off on YaYa Diaby's three-sack game in Buccaneers' blowout win over Panthers
