Friday's preseason game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets was a bit more productive than the team's fights -- I mean joint practices -- earlier this week. Todd Bowles didn't play any of his starters, nor a handful of key depth pieces, but Aaron Glenn had his guys playing to begin.
But in these exhibition contests, it is less about the final score and more about what each team can learn from the game. And Bowles and Co. have a lot to take from from their eventful 24-16 win over the Jets, both good and bad.
So, let's kick off our coverage of Tampa Bay's opener with 12 quick takeaways from Week 1 of the preseason.
12 instant reactions from Bucs'
1. Connor Bazelak struggled against the Jets' starters, expectedly, and his accuracy was questionable all night. He lived primarily on checkdowns and designed throws, but Bazelak bounced back on his third drive and showed some mobility and moxie. It wasn't all bad, but lots to be desired.
2. Jalon Daniels came out swinging in the second half and looked a lot smoother, both finding pass-catchers downfield and evading pressure. His first drive went 80 yards in 12 plays after overcoming a penalty, and the operation just looked more efficient when he was in. His arm also looked strong, as he made some tight window throws and pushed the ball upfield on occasion.
3. Ted Hurst lived up to the hype. He was dealing with inconsisent quarterback play, but he was frequently targeted, as he was shaking defenders all night, both on routes and after the catch. His best moment was a catch and juke of veteran Minkah Fitzpatrick.
4. It was a rough special teams showing. Kadarius Calloway muffed a kick return to pin Tampa Bay deep in its own territory, Riley Dixon had two bad punts, the punt coverage unit was penalized and missed a handful of tackles to give up two sizeable returns, and kick coverage was equally shaky. Garrett Greene also fielded a questionable punt that he should have fair caught. Another punt was downed at the one-yard line. Danny Smith, explain yourself!!!
5. Chris Braswell was invisible the whole night. He didn't necessarily do anything bad, but the 2024 second-round pick didn't jump off the screen in a positive way, either, and that's more important than avoiding mistakes at this point. Braswell needs to start showing up, or he could be in trouble.
6. The run defense left a lot to be desired early on. Again, this was starters playing the backups, but Breece Hall gashed the Bucs and would have walked in for a touchdown if he didn't trip, and Braelon Allen broke a huge run for a touchdown after Damarion WIlliams took a bad angle.
7. Bauer Sharp stood out the most in the TE battle, as he caught four passes for 24 yards. But he didn't always stand out in a good way, as Sharp had a -1 yard catch, a drop, and a fumble out of bounds. He was more involved than Devin Culp, Payne Durham or Ko Kieft, though.
8. Tampa Bay's young secondary depth had some flashes. Ayden Garnes had the play of the night, as he picked off a Bailey Zappe pass and took it across the field and all the way to the house. Rashad Wisdom was also opportunistic and snagged a pick off a drop. Keionte Scott recorded a PBU.
9. Elijah Roberts made a living out of being in the backfield. Not only did he record two tackles for loss against the run, but he notched a sack and nearly got home on another pass play and tallied a quarterback hit to put a bow on his stellar night.
10. Damarion Williams had a solid night, outside of one bad angle that gave up a touchdown. He found his way into the pocket and made a sack, which was part of his game-high 12 tackles. Williams also broke up a pass and made some open-field tackles, so there was a lot to like on Friday.
11. Josh Williams ran well in the second half. His first five runs went for 25 yards, and he made some strong ventures between the tackles. But Williams also showcased great vision and agility by juking a defender and finding pay dirt on a 12-yard touchdown scamper. He caught a two-yard pass as well.
12. Random shoutouts - Undrafted free agent Jack Pyburn flashed with a nice pair of sacks. Caden Fordham also had a good series, as he made a tackle, a pass break up and a tackle for loss in succession. Mohamed Kamara had a nice tackle for loss as well.
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