In Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to generate consistent pressure on Jacoby Brissett. Tampa Bay finished with two sacks on the day, one from outside linebacker Yaya Diaby and one from nose tackle Vita Vea. Paired with the two takeaways in the contest, Sunday's game marked the fifth game this season in which the Tampa Bay defense recorded multiple takeaways and multiple sacks.
According to Next Gen Stats, Tampa Bay generated pressure on 53.3% of dropbacks against the Cardinals, the unit's second-highest mark of the season. Five different Buc defenders generated at least four pressures. Vita Vea, Logan Hall and Elijah Roberts all generated three quick pressures (in under 2.5 seconds). After missing six games due to an ankle sprain, Haason Reddick returned against the Cardinals and provided juice in the trenches.
"Having [Reddick] out there, it just made everybody more hungry because as we get healthier, the more exciting it gets," said Diaby. "Having him out there was a big plus."
Reddick, an offseason acquisition in free agency, turns the corner with a tight track and bolsters the defense with his reactive quickness and twitchiness. Diaby, who leads the Bucs with 6.0 sacks in 2025, is focused on diligence in practice translating to the field on Sunday. He has harnessed his power, keeping blockers off balance in 2025. Diaby has the lateral burst for twists/stunts inside and the short-area acceleration to chase down ball carriers. He continues to refine his pass rush toolkit and is quick out of his stance.
Against Arizona, Diaby also tallied two tackles on the day (one for loss) and two quarterback hits. His sack increased his season total to 6.0 and his career total to 18.0. Diaby has recorded sacks in consecutive games for the second time this season, joining Weeks 6-7. His 18.0 career sacks are the third-most by a Buccaneers player through his first 46 games played, trailing only Warren Sapp (22.5) and Stylez G. White (19.5). He has cemented himself as one of Tampa Bay's greatest disruptors on defense, imposing his will at the line of scrimmage.
