Gerald McCoy, Panthers defense dominate Buccaneers in London
By Cory Kinnan
In his revenge game against the Buccaneers, Gerald McCoy and the Panthers defense dismantled Jameis Winston and company overseas in London.
Well, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have put a streak together this season, but not a good one as they have dropped their second straight game. After losing a divisional game to the New Orleans Saints a week ago, the Bucs drop their second straight in a beatdown overseas at the hands of the Carolina Panthers and former Tampa captain Gerald McCoy by the score of 37-26 overseas in London.
On the day, the Panthers wrecked the Buccaneers’ shorthanded offensive line, with Alex Cappa and Demar Dotson out, sacking quarterback Jameis Winston seven times on the day; two and a half of which came from Gerald McCoy as he gets revenge on his former team. To make matters worse, the Buccaneers turned the ball over five times on the day, four of which can be placed on Winston’s shoulders.
On the day, Winston under duress all game, throwing for 400 and one touchdown, but also throwing five interceptions and was strip sacked twice, losing one fumble. This is now Winston’s second three interception game of the season as he has now thrown eight on the year.
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The coaching continues to be baffling as well; Ronald Jones has been the far better back in Tampa this season, yet it continues to be the less-efficient Peyton Barber who gets the bulk of the carrier. The Bucs ran the ball just 12 times on the day, as Barber and Jones combined for just 38 yards rushing.
The Bucs continue to struggle to find a third option in the passing game behind Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, as the next best receiver was tight end Cameron Brate, who finished with 47 yards receiving on two catches. Evans and Godwin combined for 17 catches for 207 yards receiving, as Evans finished with nine catches for 96 yards, and Godwin 150 yards on ten grabs.
Defensively, Carl Nassib was seen frequently in the backfield and finished the game with four tackles for loss; for the second week in a row, Shaquil Barrett was held without a sack on the statsheet. Vita Vea continues to play at a high level, blowing up the Panthers’ offensive line, plugging gaps, and finishing with a half of a sack and multiple pressures on the quarterback.
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The Buccaneers had no turnovers defensively, and Panthers’ quarterback Kyle Allen was able to play an efficient game. Allen continues to steal Cam Newton’s job, finishing the day with 227 yards and two touchdowns.
The Buccaneers head into the bye week with a 2-4 record with a lot to clean up. After the week off, the pewter and red will look to bounce back against the Tennessee Titans and get back into the win column.