Rookie punter Jake Camarda was one of the best players on the field for the Buccaneers in their win over the Rams. Awards from that day are justified.
The Buccaneers did little to make their lives easy in the win over the defending Super Bowl champions. The offense struggled to score for the vast majority of the game and the defense left Cooper Kupp wide open in an inexplicable moment.
The one area that didn’t struggle as much as usual was the special teams.
Special teams have been a major point of concern for the Buccaneers for years, but Jaelon Darden and Jake Camarda were able to step up in a huge way in this game to help secure a victory.
Camarda is coming off one of the best punting games of the season. Averaging 54.2 net yards per punt and four punts within the 20 was a huge catalyst for a Buccaneer team that was unable to move the ball with any real consistency, and those numbers could’ve been even better if the referees made a better call when a ball bounced close to the line in the end zone.
All of this helped Camarda earn honors as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Players of the Week - Week 9
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 9, 2022
AFC
Offense: RB Joe Mixon, CIN
Defense: LB Justin Houston, BAL
ST: K Cameron Dicker, LAC
NFC
Offense: QB Justin Fields, CHI
Defense: S Kerby Joseph, DET
ST: P Jake Camarda, TB
This is a much-deserved honor.
It is hard to understate just how bad the Buccaneers looked outside of Camarda. That final drive made the whole thing look much better due to a last-second touchdown, but special teams was the only area where it was hard to find many flaws.
This is largely uncharted territory for the Bucs. It feels like the team has been succeeding despite their special teams for a few years now, but hopefully this is a sign that changes are on the horizon.
The Buccaneers are certainly trending in the right direction in this aspect of the game.
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