Broncos at Buccaneers: 3 things we learned
By John Buhler
The Denver Broncos defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-7 in Week 4. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this blowout on Sunday afternoon in Tampa.
The Denver Broncos improved to 4-0 on the year after clobbering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-7 on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Week 4. While it was a relatively low-scoring game, this game was completely lopsided and the Broncos dominated in this blowout.
Tampa Bay falls to 1-3 after winning the season opener over the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. The Broncos look intent on defending their Super Bowl Championship in 2016 even with a pair of quarterbacks departing the team.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Broncos’ Week 4 win over the Buccaneers:
1. Denver has the best defense in football and it’s not even close
The Broncos are the only undefeated team in the AFC entering Week 5. They are a perfect 4-0 thanks to what should be another all-time great defense. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has been able to offset key off-season losses like Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan with outstanding coaching.
Tampa Bay has shown the ability to move the ball in head coach Dirk Koetter’s Air Coryell attack in the early part of 2016. However, the Buccaneers high-octane offense was no match for the vaunted Denver defense on Sunday. It was a low-scoring affair, but it felt like a blowout thanks to the great defensive effort from the Broncos.
Cornerback Aqib Tailb picked off Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston twice. Winston was hit nine times and sacked three times on Sunday. He is one of the game’s bright young stars, but the Broncos front-seven had their way with Winston and the Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon in Tampa.
2. Jameis Winston needs help
Winston isn’t perfect in his second year quarterbacking the Buccaneers, but his teammates were absolutely no help to him on Sunday. No wide receivers were able to get open on the Denver secondary. He looked helpless behind a collapsing pocket. Winston took a serious beating in Week 4.
Tampa Bay needs running back Doug Martin back in the fold to have any shot at making the NFC Playoffs. Martin gives Winston the necessary balance he needs on offense to play effective ball. Without a running game, Winston is a sitting duck behind an offensive line that is getting progressively worse by the game.
The Buccaneers after 40 seasons have finally gotten what looks to be like a franchise quarterback in Winston. Coach Koetter has to do a better job of protecting his star signal caller. Otherwise, it could be a long season for the Bucs by the Bay.
3. Paxton Lynch impresses in NFL debut.
Shortly before halftime, Broncos starting quarterback Trevor Siemian had to be carted off the field with an apparent shoulder injury. He would stay on the Broncos’ sidelines, but would not return to the field for Denver.
Enter 2016 first-round pick out of Memphis in Paxton Lynch. Lynch has the raw talent to be a potential franchise quarterback, but isn’t quite polished enough to carry an NFL team in his own right. Regardless, he did look impressive in his NFL debut on Sunday.
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Lynch completed 14 of 24 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown. He would average 7.1 yards per attempt and had a quarterback rating of 94.1. Lynch wasn’t perfect, but he might be good enough to start for the Broncos over Siemian the rest of the way. The Broncos offense didn’t skip a beat when switching signal callers.