By Carter Brantley
In what was a bit of a dull matchup that featured very little offense, the Bucs fell short on the road to the Jacksonville Jaguars, losing 20-7 in Tampa Bay’s second preseason matchup of the year.
Despite getting a strong performance from the defensive backups, including a player-of-the-game-type performance from 2nd-year outside linebacker Jose Ramirez, who managed 3 sacks for the night, the Bucs weren’t able to put anything together on the offensive side of the ball, mostly due to the backup quarterbacks Kyle Trask and John Wolford being out of sync with in the passing game.
Trask did manage the lone TD of the game for the Bucs, but other than that was mostly ineffective, ending his night with a measly 53 yards on 13 attempts.
Wolford was not much better, with both failing to provide much distinction between each other as they continued their battle for the coveted QB2 spot on the depth chart.
Fortunately for the Bucs, despite their ineffectiveness in the passing game, the rookies on the offensive line submitted another strong performance.
Center Graham Barton and guard Elijah Klein both made some noise in terms of their depth chart standing, as although Barton is almost guaranteed the starting role, Klein is fighting for a roster spot.
Running backs Sean Tucker and Bucky Irving again benefitted from the strong play of the o-line, combining for over 50 yards on 10 carries and boosting their own stock in the Bucs’ search for backups for incumbent starter Rachaad White.
Defensively, the Bucs were flying all over the place, racking up sacks and limiting the Jags’ offensive efficiency, despite Jacksonville starting former 1st round pick and AFC Rookie of the Year in backup QB Mac Jones, who managed both TDs for the Jags.
Results clearly don’t matter in these games, and it was another promising night for the Bucs in many areas that need addressing.
The offensive line’s continued dominance is something to be excited about, Tucker and Irving in the backfield could be incredibly competent compliments for Mr. White, and Jose Ramirez’ strong night speaks to a sneaky campaign to get his name on that final 53-man roster.
So don’t fret Bucs fans, all is well and there’s plenty of optimism to go around.
Baker Mayfield hasn’t even played a down yet, but I’m already stoked to see what he can do with this newfound confidence in the interior o-line and a potentially not-totally-incompetent rushing attack.