The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rallied from a 9-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 16-15 on Saturday night, improving to 2-0 in the preseason. While several players strengthened their cases for roster spots, others left Raymond James Stadium with more questions. Here are the biggest winners and losers from Tampa Bay’s second preseason game.
Winners
Jalon Daniels
Daniels continues to make the quarterback competition one of the most intriguing storylines of the preseason. The undrafted rookie completed 9 of 14 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown while adding 19 rushing yards. More importantly, he helped lead three second-half scoring drives and displayed the poise that has stood out since the preseason opener, putting pressure on Jake Browning for QB2.
Anthony Nelson
Nelson was one of Tampa Bay’s biggest defensive standouts. He finished with 1.5 sacks, including a strip sack of Justin Fields, and added another half sack with Mohamed Kamara. His ability to consistently create pressure gave the Bucs’ defense an early spark and made it clear he shouldn’t be overlooked in the Bucs’ pass rush rotation.
Rueben Bain Jr.
The first-round pick didn’t need many snaps to make an impression. Bain and Yaya Diaby consistently worked their way into the backfield during the opening defensive series, helping Tampa Bay force two straight three-and-outs. Bain’s explosiveness remains hard to ignore, especially on a hump move inside against Khalil Benson, removing him from the play and clearing a path to Justin Fields for a big pressure.
Dean Patterson IV
The Tampa native strengthened his case for a roster spot, catching six passes for 56 yards. His 24-yard toe-tap reception was one of the offensive highlights of the night, and he developed strong chemistry with Daniels. Patterson has a tough road to make the 53 in a crowded receiver room with Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin Jr, Jalen McMillan, Ted Hurst, and Tez Johnson likely filling out the first five slots, but Patterson is doing everything he can to win that last slot or at least make the practice squad.
Caden Fordham
After having a breakout game against the Jets, Fordham continued his showcase with six tackles, including a tackle for loss, against the Chiefs. Fordham was everywhere, seemingly at the right place at the right time, every time. Taking advantage of SirVocea Dennis missing time, Fordham has positioned himself to round out the inside linebacking group behind assumed starters Alex Anzalone and Josiah Trotter.
Losers
Jake Browning
Browning’s night was considerably less impressive than Daniels’. He completed 8 of 11 passes for 84 yards but was sacked three times. With Daniels continuing to perform, Browning hasn’t done enough to create separation in the quarterback room, nor has he pushed the ball down the field.
Offensive Line Depth
The Bucs’ first-team offense struggled to generate anything before the backups took over, and the offensive line struggled to protect the quarterbacks consistently. Tampa Bay finished with just 143 passing yards and surrendered three sacks and committed multiple penalties that killed drives.
Ted Hurst III
A silly penalty in which Hurst smacked the back of the helmet of fellow rookie Mansoor Delane after a play where Delane was handsy, punished the Buccaneers’ offense and moved them back 15 yards. While it looked like Hurst had taken exception to Delane having his hands on his jersey after the play, the rookie will need to learn not to react.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Bucs Winners and Losers From Preseason Win Over Chiefs
Reporting by Ashlie Abrahams, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ashlie Abrahams, Buccaneers Wire | USA TODAY Network
