Buccaneers defense dominates Geno Smith, Jets at joint practice

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to New Jersey this week for a pair of joint practices with the New York Jets ahead of their preseason opener on Friday night. 

Tuesday’s practice provided the Buccaneers’ first opportunity of the offseason to see how they measure up against another team. There’s been plenty of hype surrounding Tampa Bay throughout training camp, but facing outside competition offered the first real test of whether the Bucs could back it up. 

Based on the reports coming out of practice, it’s safe to say Tampa Bay lived up to the hype by absolutely dominating the Jets.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense dominates New York Jets at joint practice 

The Bucs defense got the best of the Jets’ starting offense, making life particularly miserable for starting quarterback Geno Smith.

Connor Hughes, who covers the Jets for SNY, summed up Smith’s rough day: 

“Geno Smith was 10 of 16 passing with 2 TD (red zone), 2 INTs and 2 sacks. Stats a little misleading, the 18-yard pass to Mason Taylor was the only completion longer than 10 yards. Not a great day for the offense.”

Cornerback Damarion “Pepe” Williams, who has stood out throughout training camp for the Bucs, intercepted Smith for a pick-six on the second play of 11-on-11 drills. Linebacker Alex Anzalone, a key veteran addition for Tampa Bay, also had a pick-six.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Al-Quadin Muhammad got to Smith for would-be sacks, giving the Bucs multiple splash plays against New York’s starting offense. 

It was an impressive first look at the Buccaneers defense against another team after weeks of training camp hype. 

Buccaneers defense needs a major turnaround in 2026

Tampa Bay’s defense was somewhere between below average and flat-out bad in 2025. The Bucs ranked No. 20 in scoring defense, No. 19 in total yardage allowed, and No. 27 against the pass. 

Overhauling the unit was the front office’s biggest priority this offseason, and they attacked the problem through both free agency and the draft. Tampa Bay could be trotting out as many as five new starters defensively this season.

Seeing this group create so much havoc and dominate the Jets so thoroughly is an encouraging sign. 

It’s also worth noting that all of today’s success came without Vita Vea, who remains sidelined with a “back injury” as he continues to hold in amid his contract dispute. If Tampa Bay ultimately holds firm on refusing to trade Vea and he eventually returns to the field, his presence will make an already-impressive defensive front even better.

On paper, this could be the best defensive unit the Buccaneers have put together in years. It’s a young group with plenty of new faces, so it could take time to gel during the regular season. But if this group reaches its potential, it could be one of the NFL’s best defenses by season's end.

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