The good, bad, and ugly from the Bucs’ week 1 win over the Falcons

Another rookie showing up in a major way. Egbuka was the star of the show on Sunday with not just one but two touchdowns for the Buccaneers, including the game-winner. Egbuka did all the little things right all game. He was blocking in the running game, ran crisp routes, and was the polished product the Bucs were promised. He even took an end-around for nine yards. Egbuka finished the game with four receptions for 67 yards and two scores. 

OLB Hassasn Reddick 

Reddick wanted to make his presence felt, and he certainly did that on Sunday. The veteran pass rusher notched his first sack of the season on a huge third down in the third quarter. The Falcons were in field goal range facing third and nine, and Reddick's 10-yard sack took them out and forced a punt. He put a ton of pressure on Penix all game and caused two false start penalties on right tackle Elijah Wilkinson. 

WR Kam Johnson

Some were surprised when the Bucs kept seven wide receivers on the roster, and one of them was Kam Johnson. They learned why on Sunday. Johnson proved to be an asset on special teams as a punt returner, flipping the field for the Bucs with an electric 54-yard punt return in the third quarter. The tremendous field position led to a Bucky Irving touchdown and a Bucs lead, five plays later. 

P Riley Dixon

The Bucs finally have a Punter. Dixon was drilling balls all game long, pinning them back deep. He averaged 51.3 yards a punt with a booming kick of 62 yards. Two of his punts pinned the Falcons inside their own 20. Dixon proved to be a weapon for the Bucs, flipping the field when drives stalled out. A welcome addition from last season. 

S Antoinie Winfield Jr.

Winfield Jr. was quiet most of the game, but came up big when it counted the most. In the fourth quarter’s final seconds, the Falcons took a shot at the endzone from he 26-yard line. Winfield Jr. came flying seemingly out of nowhere to make a pass breakup that would help save the game. He ended the day with four tackles, but the pass breakup was the highlight.

Bucs’ Offensive Line

The Bucs threw everyone a curveball when they reshuffled their offensive line against the Falcons. Many expected the Bucs to start Charlie Heck at left tackle with the injured Tristan Wirfs still sidelined, but to the surprise of everyone but those in the organization, that was not the case. Graham Barton slid over to left tackle with Ben Bredeson moving to center. Michael Jordan, who was elevated from the practice squad, started at left guard.

It wasn’t smooth sailing right away, but once they settled in, they got an effective push in the run game and kept Baker Mayfirled relatively clean. He was not sacked on the day and often had clean pockets to operate from. 

CB Jamel Dean

Dean did have a penalty negated a YaYa Diaby sack and let up a few first downs, but when it mattered most, he came up huge. He had three pass breakups late in the game, with one coming on a third and long in the third quarter on Drake London. Then in the fourth quarter, during the Falcons' forever goalline stand, Dean came away with back-to-back pass breakups on London with he game on the line. When Atlanta was threatening to score a touchdown in the final seconds, Dean had great coverage on the end zone shot to force the field goal attempt. He and McCollum held Londron to just eight receptions and 55 yards on 15 targets.

Bucs’ Run Defense

The Bucs' run defense is back like it never left. Containing a running back like Bijan Robinson to just 24 yards rushing is impressive. But keeping the entire Falcons rushing attack to just 69 yards is excellent work. The Bucs had plenty of stuff and tackles for loss as they forced the Falcons to beat them threw the air, which they almost did. 

The Bad

LB SirVocea Dennis

It was a rough outing for Dennis on Sunday, but he did redeem himself. On the first drive of the game, Bijan Robinson bet him in the flat for a 50-yard touchdown.  He had multiple missed tackles and was beaten badly on third and ten for a 23-yard catch and run in the third quarter that set up the Falcons’ field goal. Dennis was pulled from the game and replaced by former Falcon Deion Jones.

Dennis came back in the fourth quarter and immediately made an impact with a tackle for loss on Robinson. He would also record a tipped pass, a stuff for no gain, and a tackle for loss at the goal line in the final quarter. If the Bucs get the fourth-quarter version of Dennis going forward, they should be just fine, but if they don’t, a razor-thin position becomes a problem quickly. 

Early Playcalling by Josh Grizzard

Grizzard and Baker struggled to get the offense moving early in the game. There was some predictability to Grizzards play calling at times, and it seemed like they were forcing things deep instead of taking available checkdowns. However, they settled in after halftime, and Baker Mayfield led the Bucs on two scoring drives to put the Bucs ahead. He had a brilliant concept for Egbuka’s game-winning touchdown and should continue to improve week by week. 

DL Logan Hall 

It was a tough outing for Hall. On one play, he was bulldozed about 10 yards down the field, and on a critical fourth and one, he was truck-sticked by running back Tyler Allgeier to move the chains. 

K Chase McLaughlin

A rare 44-yard miss for McLuaghlin was combined with a missed PAT that gave the Falcons life late in the game. Fortunately, a missed Younghoe Koo field goal that would’ve sent the game into overtime lessens the sting from the usually reliable kicker.  

NT Vita Vea

Vea’s impact didn’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet, but he affected the game all day long. He was in there on a crucial fourth-down stop early in the game and helped limit the Falcons to just 69 total yards rushing. However, a costly roughing the passer penalty gave the Falcons the extra push they needed to pull ahead for the late lead. 

NT Greg Gaines

Gaines doesn’t get into the game often, so getting called for a roughing the passer two plays after the guy you came in for gets one isn’t a good look. Combined with Vea’s penalty, the Falcons picked up 30 free yards on their way to their go-ahead touchdown. 

Zyon McCollum’s hands

McCollum's coverage was excellent. As aforementioned, the Bucs largely kept Drake London in check, and McCollum was a big part of that. However, the newly extended cornerback dropped two gift interceptions in the game. Now the first was deflected off of Vita Vea’s helmet and came down at a weird angle, but the second one, there’s no excuse for. Fortunately for MCCollum, it became a moot point as that was the play Vea committed his roughing penalty. 

The Ugly

OT Charlie Heck

All throughout training camp, the Bucs spoke about the confidence and trust they had in swing tackle Charlie Heck starting in place of the injured Tristan Wirfs. Well, turns out they weren't that impressed. Less than an hour before kickoff, Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht broke the news that Heck would not be starting, and they were making quite the shuffle to their offensive line.

Center Graham Barton slid to left tackle with Ben Bredeson playing center, and practice squad elevation Michael Jordan getting the nod at left tackle. Not a great start for the Bucs swing tackle. 

Timeout Snafu 

The Bucs were moving the ball at the start of the third quarter with big gains of 19 and 14 yards, but stalled out imperceptibly due to poor game management on the Bucs' part. Rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson appeared to make the first grab of his career, a five-yard grab, that would’ve set the Bucs up with a third and short.

There was some question on whether he was out of bounds when he made the catch, and instead of hurrying up to the next play, the Bucs called a timeout. That timeout allowed the Falcons to get another look, and they challenged the ruling, which led to it being reversed and setting up a third and long. They didn't convert.