Buccaneers vs. Panthers: week two game skulls and planks
Offense Skull: Jameis Winston
Coming off a bad start to the season, quarterback Jameis Winston needed to prove himself and did he last night; he threw for over 200 yards and a score, but more importantly, did not turn the ball over. Hitting Chris Godwin in the first half for his only passing touchdown, Winston gave the Buccaneers the lead heading into the locker room.
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While it was not a world beating performance, Winston did enough to keep the Buccaneers in the game, and did not compromise the defense by turning the ball over. For this steady and solid performance, Winston gets the offensive skull.
Defensive Skull: OLB Shaq Barrett, CB Vernon Hargreaves
What can I say about this defense, it has single handedly improvemed overnight, and while it will take time to mature, the play of this defense gives fans hope that things are indeed changed. The hiring of Todd Bowles as the defensive coordinator was the best hire for our defense in years, as he has players like Vernon Hargreaves playing to a level they have never played before.
Hargreaves showed up big time in this game, and for the second game in a row, making big plays on the defensive side of the ball for the pewter and red. Last week it was a pick-six, this week it was a goalline stand orchestrated by the fourth year cornerback.
A lot of the pressure came from newly acquired outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett, who was up in Newton’s face all night, recording three sacks for the Buccaneers. This type of performance has been relatively unheard of in Tampa Bay, as Jason Pierre-Paul became the first player since Simeon Rice to get 10+ sacks in a season; Barrett is just about halfway there in just two games with four on the year.