Skip to main content
Advertising

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bucs' Defense: "It Was Either Us or Them"

Tampa Bay's defense won the battle on third downs in the shutout win over Atlanta, in particular on short third downs against an offense with one of the NFL's best running backs

usorthem

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers set a new season-high with four interceptions in their 16-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, but that's not the only reason they were able to get off the field and preserve their first shutout in three seasons. Also notable in the game's final stats listing was Atlanta's third-down results, as the Bucs held their opponent without a conversion in 12 attempts.

That marked just the fifth time in team history that the Buccaneers have finished a game with zero third-down conversions allowed, and it tied for the most third downs the team has ever faced without giving up any conversions. In the 1999 season finale, the Buccaneers also held the Chicago Bears to an 0-for-12 third-down output in a 20-6 victory that secured a first-round bye in the playoffs.

What was particularly remarkable about the Bucs' oh-fer on third down-defense was it wasn't the product of producing negative plays on early downs, thereby creating more difficult third downs. That was of particular note in Sunday's extremely wet and windy conditions; neither team converted a third down longer than three yards on the afternoon. No, of the 12 third downs that Tampa Bay's defense faced, half of them had Atlanta only needing one to three yards. In addition, the Bucs stopped Atlanta on three of their six fourth-down attempts.

"[We were] just determined to get off the field," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We knew what kind of game it was. It was going to come right at you. It was either us or them, so that kind of made it pretty simple."

While the Falcons weren't quite as slavishly devoted to keeping the ball on the ground in the three-hour downpour, they did run the ball on 28 of their 52 offensive plays, including 18 of 28 in the first half when the Bucs' lead was still in single digits. Entering the game, running back Bijan Robinson was the NFL's lead in rushing yards and he got the ball 19 times but only had one real breakout, a 26-yarder in the second quarter.

View the top images of Tampa Bay's game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, November 1, 2026

It was a disciplined and across-the-board effort by the Bucs' defense, after it lost one if its best run-stoppers in Yaya Diaby to a first-half knee injury. The defense rarely gave Robinson much of a seam to exploit and on average he was first hit 0.9 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He was hit behind the line of scrimmage on 78.9% of his carries, his highest figure in a game this season, and he also had his lowest missed-tackle forced rate (10.5%) of the season. On Monday Bowles praised the play of the team's cornerbacks against the run as well as linebackers Alex Anzalone and Josiah Trotter.

"I thought we played tough up front, defensive line-wise," said Bowles. "For the most part, we were gap sound. I thought the [cornerbacks] tackled. Trotter and Anzalone did a great job coming downhill – I really thought they set the edge for the most part. We let them out one time and we gave up the pass at the end, but they played pretty sound football."

The Bucs also benefited from the play of safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who returned after missing three games due to a rib fracture and did not shy away from contact, leading the team with seven tackles.

"I thought 'Win' played a heck of a ballgame," said Bowles. "He was very physical in the run game, very smart, getting people lined up. He anticipated things very well. I thought him and Tykee [Smith] played a tough game."

With that performance, the Buccaneers improved to fifth in the NFL in third-down defense, allowing a conversion rate of 32.0%. The Falcons couldn't stay on the field on Sunday, and thus they never found their way to the end zone.

Related Content

Latest Headlines

Single Game Tickets

Panthers  vs. Buccaneers

Week 12

November 30

8:15 PM ET

Chargers vs. Buccaneers

Week 13

December 6

1:00 PM ET

Saints vs. Buccaneers

Week 15

December 20

1:00 PM ET

Rams vs. Buccaneers

Week 17

January 3

Time TBD

Want more Bucs content from the official source? Add Buccaneers.com to your list of source preferences on Google today!

Advertising