Rapid-fire takes from the Buccaneers' Week 1 win over Falcons

It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons. In fact, it was slow, sloppy, and difficult to watch at times, but the Bucs got it done, thanks in part to a missed field goal. 

However, even though it wasn’t pretty, a win is a win, and the Bucs will take them any way they can. There will be a lot to learn from a gritty, hard-fought win against a divisional opponent, which hopefully the Bucs carry with them through the season. There's a lot we learned about this Bucs team as well. Here are some things I think after the Bucs’ narrow win over the Falcons. 

The Bucs got off to a slow start 

Stop me if you heard this before, but the Buccaneers offense didn’t get off to the quickest start on Sunday. Now, there were a lot of contributing factors in play here: new offensive line adjustment, a first-time offensive coordinator and Mayfield shaking off the rust. Things started to gel as the game wore on as everyone settled into their roles. However, now that they’ve gotten a game to get up to speed, they’re hoping the offense will as well.  

Play calling will improve 

There are bound to be ups and downs as offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard discovers what he likes best against certain looks and situations. Early on, it looked like they were trying to take more deep shots and missed several plays underneath, but as they settled in, his play calling got more consistent and ultimately helped set up the game-winning score. 

Baker Mayfield shakes the rust off

It took a few drives, but Mayfield shook off the preseason rust to lead the Bucs to a Week 1 victory in a three-touchdown performance. Mayfield admitted he left a lot out there early on, and watching the film back, you can see that. Now that he’s got a game under his belt with the new offensive line and weapons, hopefully, he can start faster against the Texans. 

Graham Barton is a stud at LT

For only having a handful of practices under his belt, Barton was tremendous at left tackle for the Bucs on Sunday. There are definitely some things to clean up, but he only gave up two pressures there on the day. Not many centers have the athleticism to kick out to tackle and perform like that at the position. I wonder how many teams are kicking themselves for only looking at him as an interior prospect.

SirVocea Dennis will bounce back 

It was certainly a rough day for SirVocea Dennis, but he made up for it in the fourth quarter.  He logged two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a run stuff in that final 15 minutes, and that version of Voss is what we saw all summer. If that’s the version the Bucs will get going forward, they’ll be in a good position.  

Antoine Winfield Jr. is back

Antoine Winfield Jr. was quiet for most of the game but made the biggest play when it counted most. I don’t think he made that play last season when he was banged up, so the fact that he was able to do so was an encouraging sign. Having their All-Pro safety back allows everyone else on the back end to take chances knowing the skill that’s behind them. 

Charlie Heck must have really been bad 

For the Bucs to shuffle around 3/5ths of their offensive line, Heck must’ve really struggled leading up to the season opener. Head coach Todd Bowles said they tried out the alignment in case of emergency, but then it started to look like an emergency, so they went with that group to start Week 1. It’s a pretty damning comment from the head coach. The Bucs thought their best chance to win was to move their center, who never played left tackle in the NFL, to his position over Heck is all you need to know about their confidence in him. Ouch.

Haason Reddick makes his impact felt early 

Haason Reddick was the only buccaneer to log a sack on Sunday, but his presence was felt throughout the game. The defense definitely left a few sacks on the table, but Reddick made his impact felt, drawing double teams and chips to free up paths for everyone else. At one point, he drew back-to-back false starts on the Falcons' third-string right tackle to stunt their drive. The Bucs look like they found a steal in free agency. 

Bucs finally have a return game and a punter!

How about Kam Johnson? The Bucs have not had a serious return game in years, but Johnson set the Bucs up with tremendous field position in the second quarter after ripping off a 54-yard punt return. Five plays later, the Bucs put their first touchdown on the board to take the lead. Speaking of field position, Riley Dixon was excellent in his Buccaneers debut. He averaged 51.3 yards per punt and had two downed inside the 20. I’m not pressing the panic button on Chase McLaughlin just yet.

Rachaad White is the best pass-protecting back in the league 

It won’t make the headlines, but White saved Mayfield from getting blown up quite a few times. Whitehead took a back seat to Bucky Irving with just 14 snaps on Sunday and only touched the ball three times, but he proved once again invaluable in pass protection.

Secondary balls out

No interceptions on Sunday, but the Bucs' secondary was excellent. The combination of Zyon McCollum and Jamel Dean held Drake London to just 55 yards, and they didn’t let up any explosive passes on the day. The future is bright for Jacob Parrish, and Tykee Smith is settling in fine at safety. 

Emeka Egbuka is the real deal

We talked all summer about how ready and polished Egbuka was, and the world got to see it firsthand on Sunday. Heck, I’ve been saying it since he was drafted. We found out afterwards that it was he who called for the game-winning touchdown, which just shows how good he is going to be. The sky is the limit for the Bucs' rookie wide receiver.

Offense will be difficult to stop once Godwin and Wirfs are back

The Bucs offense had to work out the kinks in the first game, but as they settled in, you could see the potential when everything is firing on all cylinders, and that was without Tristan Wirfs and Chris Godwin. When the duo returns, the offense will elevate to an even higher level. The league is on notice, and as long as the Bucs don’t crumble before they come back, an explosive offense will be even more potent following their return.

The running game needs to be better 

The Bucs were not satisfied with the way they ran the ball on Sunday. Mayfield led the team in rushing, mostly on scrambles, and the Backs weren’t able to create any space. The offensive line, while excellent in pass protection, struggled to get consistent push in the run game. They’ll need to be better in the coming weeks as they face much better defensive lines. 

Bucs need to finish drives on defense 

The Bucs have talked about having a killer instinct on defense, but that didn’t show up on Sunday. Sure, the defense made enough plays at the end of the game to force a potential game-tying field goal, but it should’ve never gotten to that. Sacks were missed, interceptions were dropped, penalties were committed and an eight-play goal-line stand still resulted in points for the Falcons. The Bucs will face much stiffer competition in the coming weeks, and if they want to emerge victorious in those games, the defense will need to find a way to finish drives. 

Bowles has balls

Here’s something we didn’t see last year. At the end of the first quarter, down seven points and facing a fourth and one at their own 36, head coach Todd Bowles left the offense on the field. The gamble paid off, as the Bucs' offense marched down the field and put points on the board. Bowles has received criticism for not going for it on fourth down in the past, so to see him have trust in his offense — especially when they weren’t playing well early — shows growth.