The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense had no trouble creating big plays in Sunday's 44-32 loss to the Buffalo Bills, they just gave up big plays as well.
The Bucs forced three turnovers at Highmark Stadium, but gave up touchdowns of 43, 52 and 25 yards to last year's AFC runner-up.
The first takeaway came just two plays into the Bills' first drive, when pressure forced quarterback Josh Allen to attempt a two-handed chest pass that fell into the arms of rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish. It was the first interception of Parrish's career in what's been an impressive rookie campaign for the third round pick, who recorded five interceptions during his college career at Kansas State.
Parrish, who made his third start Sunday, has already shown a knack for making big plays, although they've primarily come against the run. Parrish contributed a pair of tackles for loss Sunday as well, making him the first rookie since 2023 to record seven or more tackles for loss, two or more sacks and an interception. At the end of Sunday's game, Parrish was second among all defensive backs in the league in tackles for loss.
Parrish wasn't the only Buccaneer to record his first career interception against the reigning NFL MVP Sunday. Three possessions later, third-year linebacker SirVocea Dennis picked off an Allen pass over the middle that had been batted up in the air by safety Tykee Smith.
It's been a season of firsts for Dennis, who has started every game this year after serving as a backup his first two years in the league. The former Pitt Panther has already more than doubled his previous career highs in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks. The interception was his first since week 12 of his senior year at Pitt, 2022, against Miami (FL).
The Bucs' third takeaway came on special teams. Early in the third quarter, cornerback Josh Hayes punched the ball out of the hands of Bills punt returner Mecole Hardman before wide receiver Ryan Miller dove on it.
It set up a Sean Tucker touchdown seven plays later to take the lead, but the Bills would outscore the Bucs 23-6 over the final 17 minutes to put the game away.
While Sunday marked a milestone for Dennis and Parrish, it was hardly anything new for the Bucs defense as a whole – taking the ball away has been a strength all season. Sunday marked their sixth consecutive game forcing at least one turnover. It was also their sixth game on the season with multiple takeaways. Through Sunday's games, the Bucs are tied for fifth in the league with 16 takeaways and are third in turnover differential at plus-nine.
