Week four started a very similar way to other games since Jameis Winston took over last season as the starting quarterback. While there have been games where Winston came out firing on all cylinders there also have been weeks where the Buccaneers first possession has been cut short due to mistakes. On his first pass of the game following back to back rushes by Charles Sims III, Winston threw a pass that fans watching in attendance and at home questioned. Without hesitation Aquib Talib stepped in front of a pass intended for Adam Humphries and returned it 25 yards into the Broncos red zone to set up an easy touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas from Trevor Siemian. The Bucs offense would get the ball back following the kickoff and use 13 play en route to a seven-yard touchdown run by Jameis Winston. Through the first quarter both quarterbacks faced tremendous pressure at times, but Siemian took advantage of defensive miscues by the Buccaneers.
During the second quarter former Bucs cornerback Aquib Talib would strike again intercepting another Jameis Winston pass. The Bucs couldn’t find an answer for the Broncos defense in the second quarter as Winston was sacked, hurried and hit numerous times. Siemian would get sacked twice, but the second time would prove potentially costly for the Broncos and Gary Kubiack. Leading 14-7 Under four minutes’ left in the first half. After dropping back Siemian would get dropped hard onto his shoulder by defensive tackle Clinton McDonald. Siemian would get carted into the locker room ahead of halftime making way to rookie Paxton Lynch. Kubiack would trust his young signal caller allowing him to pass on his first attempt. Brandon McManus would give the Broncos a 10-point lead as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms for half time.
The Broncos would get the ball first in the second half and Paxon Lynch would pick up right where he left off. Lynch would throw for 38 yards en route to another Brandon McManus field goal giving the Broncos a 13-point lead. This Buccaneer team clearly has a lot of issues since their week one victory against the Atlanta Falcons. While the offense has shown flashes since that game the defense has sputtered. Tampa Bay’s secondary which was supposed to be much improved for a season ago has struggled in Mike Smith’s new defensive scheme. Mid way through the 3rd quarter we would find out Brenden Myers, Gerald McCoy and rookie Noah Spence would not return to the game due to a variety of reasons. This is a blow to an already injury depleted team. As the final seconds ticked off the clock Denver held onto a 20-7 lead and to hope in sight the Bucs could get back into this game following at that point a three sack day for the Broncos.
Paxton Lynch since taking over for Trevor Siemian has looked un-rookie like playing mostly out of the shotgun formation. Lynch seemed to prefer the shotgun dating back to his playing time at Memphis. On the other sideline Jameis Winston and the offenses numbers have gone done every single quarter. In the first quarter they managed 111 yards, second quarter around 41 yards and the third minus four yards. As they game has gone on Jameis has felt more and more pressure. With 13:34 left in the 4th the Buccaneers had punted four straight times. Penalties have not been an issue for the Bucs as they have only received seven for 49 yards the Broncos almost doubling that. The issue is that almost half of the Bucs penalties came at very inopportune times.
The Next game u for the Buccaneers will be on Monday Night Football against the 1-3 Carolina Panthers in Charlotte.
