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Buccaneers game grades: 2017 Week 3 loss in Minnesota

By David Harrison

TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 31: Head coach Dirk Koetter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers speaks into his headset from the sidelines during the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins on August 31, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 31: Head coach Dirk Koetter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers speaks into his headset from the sidelines during the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins on August 31, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 24: Tampa Bay Buccaneers players link arms on the sidelines during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 24, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – SEPTEMBER 24: Tampa Bay Buccaneers players link arms on the sidelines during the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Vikings on September 24, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

DEFENSIVE LINE

The Buccaneers have made a lot of moves on the defensive line in the last few years.

Noah Spence, Robert Ayers and Chris Baker are the biggest additions to the front-four. Each has shown flashes of greatness, relatively in Baker’s case, but none have turned into a consistent pass disruptor yet.

Baker missed this game, so he won’t shoulder the blame this week, but Ayers and Spence will carry some.

To Spence’s credit, he was injured on the first play of the game, but still played on and off throughout the day.

For those who don’t remember, the second-year defensive lineman had shoulder issues throughout last season, and it was revealed after 2016 he played with a significant injury through most of the year.

The key to getting in quarterback Case Keenum’s head, was getting in his face.

Gerald McCoy put a solid hit on the Vikings quarterback in the second quarter, and the result was a pass to Kyle Rudolph which sailed over the reach of the 6’6” tight end.

This was about it. There just wasn’t a consistent pass rush from the Buccaneers front line.

Keenum wasn’t sacked once in this game, and in fact, he was able to get free six times gaining 18-yards in total.

Where they did do well was against the run. This is the second-week in a row where the defense stood up well to a pretty good running attack.

Rookie Dalvin Cook recorded his first career touchdown, but was unable to notch his second 100-yard rushing performance.

It took 27 tries for Cook to gain 97-yards, so kudos to the front-four, for being a tough match-up in run defense.

Unfortunately for the Buccaneers, it wasn’t good enough.

GRADE: C

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