Grading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers position-by-position following their upset victory over the New Orleans Saints.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened the 2018 season in impressive fashion with a 48-40 win against the New Orleans Saints. This was the perfect way to start the season. The Bucs were heavy underdogs going into this division road game and they shocked everyone with how they showed up.
It was a historic day for the Tampa Bay offense. The Bucs managed to tie their franchise record for most points in a game. At the same time, the defense allowed New Orleans to put up a historic offensive performance as well.
As impressive the Tampa Bay Buccaneers performance was, it was far from perfect. Let’s look at each position group and I’ll give them a grade on Sunday’s performance.
Quarterbacks: A
Ryan Fitzpatrick played a great game. He was the highest scoring quarterback of the week with 417 yards and 5 total touchdowns. Fitzpatrick managed the game well and took the one-on-one matchups when they were there. He even scrambled for yardage when he needed to. I would have given him an A+ but he missed a wide-open Chris Godwin for a potential 70-yard touchdown.
Running Backs: B-
Peyton Barber only had 69 total yards, but he played a solid game. He didn’t do anything amazing, but he did everything he was supposed to. Plus, Barber and Jacquizz Rodgers helped big time by not letting their quarterback get sacked.