Is the Strength of the Buccaneers Their Defense Again?

Check the calendar Buccaneers’ fans, it might be 2020 again.

Through three weeks of football for the Buccaneers, I would argue one side of the ball has been outplaying the other. Last year this was also the case, just the opposite. The offense was clearly far ahead of the defense. It was top three in most categories as opposed to the defense being bottom three in most. While the gap isn’t that large so far, it is there. The defense has unfortunately not been consistent, but has still done more.

The biggest thing has been the run defense. While they haven’t faced the best competition on offense as of yet, they have faced some pretty good RBs. Bijan Robinson in week one and Breece Hall in week 3. And facing those guys (plus Nick Chubb in week 2) has led to the 5th best ypc allowed in 3.6. This is nothing new as the run defense has always been in a league of its own since Bowles arriving, but it is still worth mentioning. Even missing Calijah Kancey, the run defense has shown up. They will face arguably the biggest test next Sunday in Saquon Barkley.

And while the passing defense hasn’t put it all together, how about Jamel Dean? In coverage, Dean has been rated by PFF as the best corner in preventing separation. He is the 6th best CB in the whole NFL according to their grading. If you dont’t trust PFF, just watching him, you can see that every snap. Last game I cited how he only allowed one catch against the Jets. The whole season he has only allowed 6 receptions. The secondary as a whole has also been pretty good about blitzing from the secondary. Having a healthy Antoine Winfield will do that, but Jacob Parrish hasn’t been a slouch either.

But speaking of pass rush, it’s time to praise Yaya Diaby. He currently leads the league in QB pressures and has gotten 2 sacks this season. Against the Jets alone he had 11 pressures, which is insane. People have been constantly saying the Bucs pass rush has been ineffective. The biggest thing from last year was the Bucs couldn’t get pressure rushing 4. However, this year, they are 8th in pressure rate when rushing four or less.A huge upgrade. Yaya has been developing, and Haason Reddick on the other side has been very helpful.

There are a lot of valid reasons as to why the Bucs offense hasn’t been able to keep pace. Not only have they dealt with a ton of injuries, but they have faced some really good defenses. However, this is a good thing in my opinion. The defense has done some heavy lifting, but so far it has been able to carry it. So, when the offense is closer to full strength, that should lead to a well-balanced team. This is not to say the Bucs offense has been bad. I have been mostly impressed with how they’ve handled the injuries. Just right now, the defense has been better.