Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 Standouts vs. Panthers in Week 2

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rebounded with a Week 2 primetime win over division rival Carolina on the road. Here are five standouts from the victory.

Coming off a rough Week 1 loss, there were a lot of questions about how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would perform on the road against the divisional rival Carolina Panthers. Well, those questions were largely to put to bed, at least for this week.

Led by an excellent defensive performance, including the game-clinching stop on fourth-and-1 from their own 2-yard line, the Bucs won their first game of the season, defeating the Panthers 20-14 on Thursday night.

Here are five standouts from the victory that helped the Buccaneers succeed.

5. P Bradley Pinion

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: the punter? Really? Yes, really. Bradley Pinion had himself a very good game. He punted six times for a 49.2-yard average, including a booming 63-yard punt. He pinned the Panthers inside their own 20-yard line twice and consistently put the defense in a good position.

Without his leg, chances are the Bucs would have not won the field position battle. Pinion definitely earned his paycheck Thursday night and his efforts helped lead the Bucs to their first win.

4. DE Anthony Nelson

Anthony Nelson, the fourth-round rookie defensive end only had one tackle Thursday night. However, he made two key plays that thwarted the Carolina offense when they were beginning to build momentum.

The first one was a defended pass where he jumped high above the offensive line and swatted the ball out of mid-air. It was just another example of his great athleticism. The second one was even more important.

While Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was scrambling for a potential first down, Nelson punched the ball out of his grasp and Ndamukong Suh recovered the ball. It gave the Bucs the ball at midfield and led to another missed scoring opportunity for the Carolina offense.

3. RB Peyton Barber

Leading up to the game, I said Ronald Jones II would get the majority of the carries on Thursday night. However, that was incorrect. Now, Barber’s stat line wasn’t the best (23 carries for 82 yards for a 3.6 average per carry, plus a seven-yard catch), but it was critical, especially in the fourth quarter.

He provided a much needed balance to the Bucs’ attack and his 16-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was a great display of his balance, power and vision. It wasn’t the prettiest performance by a running back, but it was incredibly effective.

2. WR Chris Godwin

No. 1 receiver Mike Evans had a decent night (four receptions for 61 yards), but he was shadowed all night by the Panthers top cornerback, James Bradberry. That opened the floodgates for Chris Godwin, who had the fifth 100-yard game of his career on Thursday night.

His eight catches for 121 yards led all receivers and his 20-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the result of great play calling, an excellent throw from quarterback Jameis Winston and some outstanding route-running from the third-year receiver out of Penn State. Thursday night should be the first of a few 100 yard games for Godwin moving forward.

1. EDGE Shaq Barrett

In my preview article for the game, I said the Bucs would have at least three sacks of Newton. Well, I’d like to thank Shaq Barrett for making my prediction correct all by himself. He had three sacks of the Carolina signal-caller on Thursday night, including two on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter. He also added a quarterback hit.

For those of you keeping score at home, he was responsible for four of the defense’s hits on Newton. Not bad for a guy that was stuck behind Von Miller and Bradley Chubb. If he continues to play this way, a long-term contract extension will be his future.

The Bucs haven’t had a reliable edge rusher since Simeon Rice. Now they have two in Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul (when he returns from his neck injury). The future is bright for this defense because of players like Barrett. Thursday night showed that fact clearly. Let’s see if the defense can have a third straight strong performance come Week 3 against Giants at home.