The Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason is over, and the final game was an absolute nightmare.

A 19-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars left plenty to dissect, from a lifeless offense to a few defensive bright spots to special teams disaster.

With roster cuts looming, the Buccaneers have more questions than answers heading into Week 1. Let’s go ahead and break down the final winners and losers of Tampa Bay’s preseason.

Winners

EDGE Jack Pyburn

Two sacks and a tackle for loss. Pyburn has put together strong tape over all three preseason games, and his ability to close in obvious passing situations stood out. How many times over the last few years have the Bucs failed to close in those spots? Pyburn did it, and that vaults him to the top of the winners list.

He finished Friday night with 2.0 sacks, three tackles for loss, two QB hits, a pass break-up, and four total tackles. It was a strong performance and we’ll have to see if his overall body of work is enough to break into the 53-man roster.

S Miles Killebrew

Killebrew led the team with four tackles in the first half and laid the wood on a couple of them. He was flying all over the place on defense.

His biggest impact is expected to come on special teams, but if he can provide solid safety depth, that’s a huge bonus for a room with serious depth questions. Todd Bowles said just a week or two ago that if you can stay in shape and you’re a safety, you have a shot at making this team. That tells you how dire the situation is at the position.

EDGE Anthony Nelson

Yes, he was going up against backups. But what can you say about a guy with over 100 games played who is still willing to not only go out and play in a preseason game, but also dominates the competition?

Nelson was in the backfield seemingly every snap, making sacks, stopping the run, and playing his tail off. He knows his role as a rotational piece, and he performed at a high level against the competition he was supposed to beat. That’s exactly what you want to see, and that’s why he’s on this list.

DL Josiah Green

A sack, a tackle for loss, and two QB hits highlighted Green’s night and he looked good, overall. The defensive line room is pretty much set with its top six guys, and it would take a miracle to crack that lineup. But Green made a strong case for a practice squad spot, and for a young, talented player, that’s the kind of tape you need to put out there.

LB Josiah Trotter

Trotter didn’t even play, and that’s the point. The Buccaneers sat him, which tells me he’s going to be the Week 1 starter next to Alex Anzalone. SirVocea Dennis is dealing with a groin injury, and Christian Rozeboom is dealing with an undisclosed injury that’s kept him out of practice for the last couple weeks.

Those injuries factor into the decision, for sure, but Trotter has made enough plays, and Bowles has expressed enough confidence in his ability, to warrant the starting job. Unless things go completely south, I expect him to hold that position for the rest of the year and into the future.

Losers

Buccaneers offense

I’ve got to keep things broad here because that’s where it matters most. The Bucs offense was putrid. There was zero spark. Sloppy play, dropped passes, fumbled snaps, miscommunication, blown blocks. Whatever could go wrong went wrong.

Outside of Jalon Daniels’s performances in the first two preseason games, this offense hasn’t shown anything. And when you compound that with the fact that the starters have only played six snaps all preseason and haven’t been getting reps with each other, the concern grows. They don’t have the time on task together to learn this offense and build chemistry going into Week 1.

Yes, it’s an 18-week, 17-game season, and there’s plenty of time to build throughout. But you at least want some kind of footing, some kind of foundation, and right now we don’t know what that’s going to be.

87 total yards. Six first downs. 2-of-12 on 3rd down and 10 punts on 11 possessions (the other possession was a lost fumble) is absolutely inexcusable for any group of players.

Every Buccaneers quarterback not named Baker Mayfield

Daniels fumbled a snap, the one thing he absolutely could not do. Going into this game, he needed to be clean pre-snap, and he wasn’t. Jake Browning overthrew passes and ran into his own sack on the final play. Connor Bazelak literally played four snaps.

It’s a shame because Daniels played well up until the fumble. He had a few dropped passes that weren’t his fault and made some strong throws. He did connect with Garrett Green for 18 yards. But after the fumble, he looked a little shaky, and coaches harp on that stuff. Even though Browning hasn’t done anything to win the QB2 job, those little mistakes go a long way in the evaluation. No quarterback helped their stock tonight.

Buccaneers receivers

Tez Johnson had a nice play. Garrett Green had a solid catch. But overall, the drops were everywhere and the quarterbacks got zero help. Kam Johnson had a bad drop, and you can question whether his decision to field a punt return from the 2-yard line was the right call.

With injuries to Jalen McMillan (who didn’t travel to Jacksonville), Emeka Egbuka (who traveled but remains questionable for Week 1), and Tez Johnson coming off a fresh injury, the receiving group simply didn’t show up on a night where they could have really made one last strong statement.

OL Elijah Klein

Klein was actually holding his own in the first half, opening lanes in the run game and showcasing his versatility at right tackle. For a minute, it looked like he’d land on the winners list.

Then the second half happened, and he allowed two ugly sacks that immediately demoted him. He’s more of an interior lineman playing out of position at tackle, but the coaching staff wouldn’t put him there if they thought he’d get beaten constantly. I don’t think he did enough to warrant a spot on the 53-man roster, and that’s unfortunate because there was real potential heading into last year before Luke Haggard, Michael Jordan, and Dan Feeney were picked over him.

P Riley Dixon and the punt coverage

Things looked promising early. Dixon was averaging over 47 yards per punt with a net around 41 yards, right at league average. Then a big return and a return for a touchdown completely sunk those numbers. That’s the last thing you want to see from Dixon and the coverage team, especially after a solid second game against the Chiefs. Special teams coordinator Danny Smith has his work cut out for him.

Final Word

This was as ugly a preseason finale as you’ll see, but the silver lining is simple: it’s over. Roster cuts are next, and then the real football begins.