Despite their week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had plenty of issues in their first game of the 2025 season. Among them was the pass rush, which head coach Todd Bowles called out after the game.
According to Buccaneers' reporter Scott Smith, Bowles said after the game that the team left sacks on the field.
The team finished with just one sack, courtesy of Haason Reddick. However, they struggled to generate pressure for most of the game against Penix, who proved to be quite the elusive target.
Penix scrambled for 21 yards on six attempts and scored a touchdown with his legs on the Falcons' penultimate drive. On both of Atlanta's final drives of the game, Tampa Bay generated very little pressure, and helped Penix march his team down the field twice in the fourth quarter.
With a defensive line that features Reddick and Vita Vea, Tampa Bay should be able to create more opportunities for sacks in future games. Last season, their 46 sacks were tied with the Chargers for sixth-most in the NFL. This year, they are on pace for 17, which would be the worst in the league.
Of course, it is hard to say anything definitive as it's just week 1. Maybe Tampa Bay had week 1 jitters, maybe Atlanta has a fantastic offensive line this year. It is something the Buccaneers should work to improve in practice, so that when they take the field next Monday night against the Texans, they will be ready to take down CJ Stroud.
At the end of the day, a win in is a win, and Buccaneers' fans should be happy the team pulled it off. But the win was not without concerning signs, and it will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay responds in Week 2.