Buccaneers win battle of Florida behind Devin White’s strong performance

Rookie Devin White is beginning to show why the Buccaneers took him with the fifth overall pick as he led the defense to a strong showing vs. Jacksonville.

For the first time this season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are winners in back-to-back weeks after defeating their in-state rival Jacksonville Jaguars. With a final score of 28-11, the Bucs jumped out on the Jaguars early on and were able to ride out a 25-0 halftime lead the rest of the way. Rookie Devin White continues to show improvements on a week-to-week basis for the pewter and red.

This game featured three first half takeaways from the defense, including an interception, fumble recovery, and touchdown from 2019 first round pick Devin White. The LSU product added another five tackles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit, and two passes defended as well.

In all, the defense finished with four turnovers as a whole as Sean Murphy-Bunting recorded an interception, and Ndamukong Suh recovered another fumble. The pewter and red defense recorded a season-high five sacks as well as Shaquil Barrett continues to lead the league in sacks with two more today; Carl Nassib, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Sam Acho each added sacks to the box score as well.

More from The Pewter Plank

• Devin White posts cryptic message to Lavonte David on Twitter
• ESPN predicts surprising outcome to Devin White trade saga
• Updated Buccaneers depth chart after signing two players from rookie minicamp
• Todd Bowles sends clear message about Baker Mayfield’s role with Bucs
• The Athletic is wrong about Bucs one ‘must-watch’ game in 2023

While the defense was the tell of the tale in this one, it was a consistent showing on the offensive side of the ball as well. Quarterback Jameis Winston put together a steady showing, throwing for 268 yards, and he did not turn the ball over (which is most impressive).

Peyton Barber led the rushing attack for the Buccaneers with 44 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Ronald Jones was given just six touches for eight yards on the day, and Winston added 20 yards on the ground as well.

Breshad Perriman played by far his best game in a Bucs’ uniform, tallying 87 yards on five catches. Tight end O.J. Howard played well with five catches for 61 yards as well. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin combined for 103 yards on eight catches between the dynamic duo.

The Buccaneers move to 5-7 on the season, and more importantly, the rookies Devin White and Sean Murphy-Bunting continue to improve. Next week they host the 6-6 Indianapolis Colts in hopes of inching back toward a .500 record on the season.