Defense Rising
January 7th, 2024
So much for Pro Bowl.
Did the Stinking Panthers pack it in? Did they already have the U-Hauls in their driveways? Did they already book their flights for Jamaica? Probably.
Dudes are still competitors. At least some are true professionals. So when Carolina looked about to pull within two points late, Joe believes they were still trying to win.
And then the Bucs defense rose up (Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, specifically. Yes, really).
The Bucs shut out the Stinking Panthers. The Bucs offense was mostly trash today (you can’t tell Joe that Baker Mayfield was 100 percent). Any other team, any other day, and the Bucs would have lost.
But at least the defense came to play. Huge plays by the best (Antoine Winfield) and the worst (JTS) kept Carolina off the board.
Joe has never seen one guy force a fumble at the goal line with a dude diving for a score twice in a year like Winfield. The first one was againwt the Dixie Chicks in October and the Bucs still lost.
Today, the Bucs won when Winfield’s forced fumble (recovered by Jamel Dean) may have won the game.
If you take away two dumb Carolina mistakes, the Bucs would have been trailing 14-9 late in the game.
“I was put in a similar situation this season (against Atlanta) and knew [D.J. Chark] was going to reach the ball out and I just had to touch the ball,” Winfield told the Buccaneers Radio Network. “I’m always analyzing where the ball is and when the opportunity arises, you have to do something.”
Yes, it was like old school Bucs when the defense carried the team. Both when Lee Roy Selmon played and when Warren Sapp played.
For Todd Bowles, speaking on the Buccaneers Radio Network, the fact the Bucs shut out Carolina to wrap up a division title when the offense didn’t show up, it made the playoff-clinching win all the more sweeter.
“For all the flack that the guys took and the coaches took and the fans took even for this year that we weren’t going to be anything for us to come out and win a division title [with a shutout], that’s extra special.”
That’s four straight playoff appearances and three straight division crowns for the Bucs, an unprecedented streak for Tampa Bay.
Where’s Peter King?
January 7th, 2024 at 4:23 pm
Hopefully this version of the defense shows up for the playoffs
January 7th, 2024 at 4:23 pm
MVP
January 7th, 2024 at 4:24 pm
Why in the world didn’t they lock up Winfield Jr before the season?
He’s going to cost a ton – and he deserves it. He is the team MVP, and it’s not even close.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:24 pm
Be honest
The defense won this game today
That….and a damn good kicker!!!
January 7th, 2024 at 4:28 pm
The Panthers have one of if not the worst offense in football. They had a receiver fumble just prior to crossing the goal line, I silly penalty erased a TD run and their kicker missed a field goal. That should be 17 points. Their defense dropped three interceptions, the Bucs were lucky to win this game. It was an all around pathetic effort by the Bucs.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:30 pm
HE SHOWED THEM….STUPID FREAKING SNUB A HOLES……all good….i remember calling for him, we got him, and here he is in all of his glory…
….all good, let it go, just like they’ve snubbed Mr. David all these years….par for the course, lol…..underrated but recognized when it counts…screw them!
January 7th, 2024 at 4:31 pm
anybody know when the last time we shut out an opponent before today?
January 7th, 2024 at 4:32 pm
Trivia question: have the Bucs ever clinched a playoff spot on the last weekend of the season with a shutout? (I know the answer, just testing the knowledge of our young’uns).
January 7th, 2024 at 4:32 pm
The Yucs defense will be exposed next week. This is a trash team with a trash head coach. True Bucs fans are hoping Bowles is fired next week after they loss by 30.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:36 pm
They just stink. That QB looks like a high school QB. Phew. Now sit back and enjoy the playoff hype.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:36 pm
“Where’s Peter King?”
I bet it won’t be one of those great Breweries in the Tampa Bay Area. Ol’ Peter King will wonder why his tall one doesn’t taste a weee thing like beer.
Be really enjoyable to see.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:38 pm
Trivia question: have the Bucs ever clinched a playoff spot on the last weekend of the season with a shutout?
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I asked the AI that exact question, and it says…
Yes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have clinched a playoff spot on the last weekend of the season with a shutout. This occurred in the 2023-2024 season, when the Buccaneers won a 9-0 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 18. This win clinched them the NFC South title and secured their position as the fourth seed in the conference playoff field.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:39 pm
Haven’t won jack yet. Can’t be satisfied with barely winning the worst division in football. I get the vibe that the Bucs goals have been met, that just making the playoffs is good enough. It ain’t.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:40 pm
@ bucsfansince76
I think I was at that game. It rained cats and dogs, 3-0 final score.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:42 pm
Congrats Muncher. youre being monitored, lol
January 7th, 2024 at 4:43 pm
I had almost zero expectations this year with a new OC that was just a
Assistant quarterbacks coach. New qb, alot of rookies and bowels
As the HC. Had them winning 5 to 7 games tops.
It’s a division title and a winning season so chances are they
Will bring bowels back for another season. We re literally
Limping into the playoffs and don’t see too many scenarios where
The bucs beat the eagles or cowboys.
I do believe next season might be a bit ugly. Evans will most certainly want a big ext and with a team who will be super bowl contenders.
Winfield may leave for the same reason. Will fully expect a rebuild in 2025.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:44 pm
Bucs beat KC in 1979. 3-0. In a deluge. I sat in one of the end zones, hunched under a garbage bag.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:46 pm
Buc Fan since 76: In 1979 the Bucs beat KC Chiefs 3-0 in the pouring rain to take the NFC Central.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:46 pm
Pay him … and McLaughlin … and LVD … and Evans … and Baker. They all earned it on the field. Also would be smart to lock up Wirfs in a long term deal.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:47 pm
When your coach says we outperformed pathetic expectations that says it all. The message should be that we haven’t won anything yet. But we all know that’s not who Bowles is…oh well, maybe in a year or two we blow up this stag and roster and rebuild
January 7th, 2024 at 4:49 pm
POSITIVES …
1. SAINTS CAN SUCK IT! “3xNFCS Champs” is a dig you can put on the Saints for the next 12 months.
2. LIVE ANOTHER WEEK. I love football. I’ll take one more week of rooting for the Bucs. I’m really not interested when they’re out.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:50 pm
Ugly win. Ugly division championship. None the less, a base to build upon. Great players in key positions. Need to re-sign Winfield, Re-sign Baker, let White go, draft a later rounds QB, draft a defensive end, draft a huge running back, draft a center early, draft a corner/safety.
January 7th, 2024 at 4:50 pm
“We didn’t suck as badly as everyone predicted.”
Some praise for a frustrating season.
I assume Bowles will be back. :sigh:
January 7th, 2024 at 4:51 pm
Devin White
January 7th, 2024 at 4:52 pm
F THE AINTS!!!! THAT IS ALL!!!
WHO DAT?????
January 7th, 2024 at 4:54 pm
The Bucs investment in rookie rushers paid off this season. They finished stronger on defense unlike last season where they looked slow and flat.
January 7th, 2024 at 5:06 pm
Just for fun. What would the Bucs record be this year without Winfield?
January 7th, 2024 at 5:13 pm
MadMax Says:
January 7th, 2024 at 4:42 pm
Congrats Muncher. youre being monitored, lol
——–
I asked the AI what you meant by that… and well, now you’re on a list…
MadMax’s comment, “Congrats Muncher. You’re being monitored, lol,” could imply a more ominous tone, suggesting that by sharing information from an AI, you may have attracted attention and are now under surveillance. The use of “lol” might attempt to add a humorous or casual veneer, but the underlying message could be interpreted as a warning: your actions have placed you on a watchlist, and your activities, particularly those involving the dissemination of AI-generated information, are being closely observed. This interpretation leans towards a darker, more sinister view of technology’s role in monitoring and surveillance.
January 7th, 2024 at 5:15 pm
““We didn’t suck as badly as everyone predicted.”
Some praise for a frustrating season.
I assume Bowles will be back. :sigh:”
Cobraboy, I second your exasperation. This team exceeded expectations, but don’t lose sight that winning the worst division in football against a team that packed it in, with the worst record in the NFL… who dropped 4 picks …. and a miraculous play to keep them out of the endzone…. and a braindead penalty to call back another one….
All I’m saying is that this defense does not play remotely close to it’s talent level.
January 7th, 2024 at 5:15 pm
4 straight years in the playoffs, only team to accomplish that over that span.
January 7th, 2024 at 5:48 pm
Bucs set positive history: first time they won back-to-back Divisions. They won’t be in the Stupid Bowl.
January 7th, 2024 at 6:17 pm
I farking love it!
where is farking peter king that arse!
January 7th, 2024 at 6:31 pm
Glazer’s please pay Winfield whatever he wants as he saved the Buc’s season with that epic effort and tackle!
January 7th, 2024 at 6:33 pm
This is my favorite type of game (though a 2-0 shutout where we scored a safety would be my ultimate game). I hate today’s high-scoring NFL and I hate offense. In my ideal world, the defense would do all of the scoring and the offense would just exist to run time off the clock to rest the defense.
I love 1940’s football!
Toad Bowels throwback coach
January 7th, 2024 at 6:48 pm
Man I hope Winfield stays wish the whole team played like him wouldn’t that be something.
January 7th, 2024 at 7:45 pm
Were playing the eagles at home next week and there playing worse than the Buc s the last four weeks ,I give us a decent chance for a win! GO BUCS
January 7th, 2024 at 8:14 pm
I just wanted to say Jeff is a douche bag! Go Bucs!
January 7th, 2024 at 8:18 pm
Tucker Says:
January 7th, 2024 at 6:48 pm
Man I hope Winfield stays
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He’s not going anywhere, they’ll franchise him before they let him walk.
January 8th, 2024 at 9:38 am
Todd’s smug attitude is grating on my nerves a bit. I noticed it as he was coming off the field. Kinda like haha my play it safe play not to lose stuff worked just like I planned it. I’m a defensive genius!
Got very little to be smug about in my estimation. Won the division in a 9 to zip game against a team that didn’t belong in the league this year. That is zero TDs and two very lucky plays by AWJ and of all people JTS.
Smug ain’t a good look for you Todd!
Go Bucs!