Buccaneers defense almost saves team from well-deserved loss
Defense almost saves the day
With a lesser defense, the team wouldn’t have been anywhere close to victory at that point in the game. Their desire to save the team from their own destruction was on display early in the second quarter when linebacker Lavonte David forced a fumble by Texans running back Duke Johnson.
Bucs’ linebacker Devin White managed to recover that fumble, but Jameis Winston threw an interception on literally the next play. The defense tried again to shift the tide late in the second quarter when cornerback Jamel Dean picked off Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Winston was able to pull a touchdown out of that turnover, tying the game 17-17 going halftime and seemingly keeping the fight alive. In the second half, the Buccaneers’ defense held the Texans to two field goals on five different possessions.
They forced the Texans to punt six different times throughout the game. Several defensive players had good days.
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Lavonte David had 10 tackles, eight of which were solo tackles, one tackle for loss, and the forced fumble that was previously mentioned. Devin White had eight tackles, four of which were solo tackles. Pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul had three sacks, and cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting had one sack of his own.
Yet, despite all of those best efforts, the Buccaneers’ defense simply couldn’t save the team from Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers’ offense. Those turnovers earned the team this well-deserved loss, even if the defense was able to keep things competitive way longer than they should have been.