TAMPA, FL — The numbers do not lie, and the film looks even worse. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense blitzed on 30.7 percent of their defensive snaps last season. That ranks sixth-most in the NFL, according to Sharp Football Analysis. Head coach Todd Bowles loves to send the house. He built his career on aggressive, downhill playcalling. But living by the blitz meant dying by the big play. Opposing offenses carved up Tampa Bay, leaving the Bucs with the league’s sixth-highest explosive play rate allowed. A defense designed to intimidate quarterbacks instead became a runway for massive chunks of yardage.
An explosive play in the NFL means a run of 12 or more yards or a pass of 16 or more yards. Tampa Bay surrendered these chunks at an alarming clip. When Bowles dialed up the pressure, the rush rarely got home fast enough. Quarterbacks sidestepped the initial surge, kept their eyes downfield, and fired into wide-open windows. The secondary scrambled to recover, but the true fatal flaw lived right in the middle of the field.
The inside linebackers failed to hold their own in coverage. You could hear the frustration echo through Raymond James Stadium every time a tight end or a slot receiver chipped a defensive end and broke wide open across the middle. Fans held their collective breath as the linebackers chased shadows. Age visibly caught up to franchise legend Lavonte David in space, while younger options like SirVocea Dennis routinely lost their assignments on crossing routes. Opposing offensive coordinators identified the mismatch, spread the field, and attacked the seams mercilessly.
“We definitely didn’t coach it well enough – I definitely didn’t coach it well enough. It starts with me, and those things can’t happen if you’re playing against a good team like that, or any team in this league. We gave them up and it was inexcusable on our part. Bad on the coaching, bad on the players.”
— Todd Bowles, Head Coach
The front office faces a massive repair job this offseason. With the 2026 free agency window rapidly approaching, general manager Jason Licht must find linebackers who can actually defend the pass. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Nakobe Dean has already surfaced as a major potential target. Tampa Bay desperately needs a true sideline-to-sideline defender who can erase tight ends and stay glued to running backs in the flat.
If Bowles refuses to adjust his scheme, the personnel must match the aggression. You cannot send five or six rushers if the remaining defenders cannot survive one-on-one matchups. The coaching staff needs to either dial back the exotic pressures or acquire athletes who thrive in man coverage. Otherwise, the 2026 season will feature another grueling year of opposing offenses throwing deep and running wild through the heart of the defense.
