NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: Cowboys, Ravens silence critics, Saints lose Brees

By Randy Gurzi

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 15: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys runs in front of Josh Norman #24 of the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedExField on September 15, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 15: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys runs in front of Josh Norman #24 of the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedExField on September 15, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
13 of 33
Next
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 12: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reacts against the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 12, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – SEPTEMBER 12: Jameis Winston #3 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reacts against the Carolina Panthers during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 12, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30)

So when Jameis Winston doesn’t throw the ball to the wrong team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers actually look like a decent team. Well, kind of. They escaped with a 20-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football but it wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty.

A weather delay of nearly 30 minutes paused the “action” but Tampa Bay was able to secure a win once things got rolling again. It’s easy to point to an efficient night from Winston and an 82-yard, one-touchdown performance from Barber and say that’s why the Bucs won, but it really wasn’t.

The defense for Tampa Bay had much more to do with it as they only surrendered 12 points to the home team despite the Panthers having players such as Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey on offense. They shut down McCaffrey and even held a lead after Peyton Barber was taken down for a safety early in the fourth quarter, which made it a 17-14 game at that point.

Having said all that, the Panthers are in shambles right now. They can’t find a way to produce points, so while the win counts it doesn’t mean the Bruce Arians era in Tampa Bay is turning a corner just yet.

Home/NFL