Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 Lessons learned vs. Panthers in Week 2

2. Offensive balance was key to the Bucs’ victory

As mentioned above, Leftwich and Arians called a balanced attack against the Panthers. This is going to be important each week moving forward. All of the good offenses — such as the Rams, Saints, Chiefs and Patriots — have great balance. The Bucs must try and emulate this, and the duo of Leftwich and Arians should have no problem doing so.

Running back Peyton Barber had 23 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, while wide receiver Chris Godwin led the team with eight catches for 121 yards and a touchdown as well. Winston completed passes to five different receivers among his 16 completions.

Moving forward, the coaching staff needs to try to find ways to get the ball into the hands of tight end O.J Howard and running back Ronald Jones II. Jones only had four carries after an excellent opener, while Howard didn’t have a single catch.

1. The defense has taken over

Hargreaves III had 12 tackles and a pass defended. Davis had seven tackles and two pass break ups. Whitehead had six tackles and a pass defended. Edge rusher Shaq Barrett had four of the defense’s six quarterback hits, including three sacks.

Defensive end Anthony Nelson had a pass defended and a forced fumble. Linebacker Kevin Minter had eight combined tackles and a quarterback hit replacing the injured Devin White, while fellow linebacker Lavonte David also had seven tackles.

Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has reformed this unit into a strong one. The defensive line, linebackers and secondary all played critical roles in shutting down the potent Carolina attack. McCaffrey was held to just 53 total yards on 18 touches, four days after having over 200 yards from scrimmage against the defending NFC champion Rams.

As long as the defense continues to put in efforts like this one, the Bucs will continue to be in every game they play. After seeing this unit struggle for so many years, it feels good to see it perform well when it matters most.