PFF names top five grade Buccaneers vs. Panthers

The Buccaneers took down the Panthers on Thursday night, thanks to a relatively clean second half. Here are Pro Football Focus’s top-five graded players.

After the defeat of the Carolina Panthers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on primetime Thursday Night Football earlier this week, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) has released their top graded performers on both sides of the ball. Getting their first win of the season, the Buccaneers played a much cleaner game than they played a week before at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

In their 20-14 defeat of the Panthers, the Buccaneers had touchdowns scored from wide receiver Chris Godwin and running back Peyton Barber. Additionally, they had three sacks from new outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett and a goal line stand orchestrated by cornerback Vernon Hargreaves to seal the win.

There are still problems that need to be solved for the Buccaneers, mostly along their offensive line (mainly their $13 million per year man Donovan Smith), and a few things to tinker with in their secondary as well. Overall, what started out as a sloppy game due to the rain turned into a find tuned machine for the Buccaneers, led by their bend-but-don’t-break defense.

Here are the five players who played the cleanest games for the Buccaneers according to PFF as Bruce Arians received his first victory as the head coach in Tampa Bay.