Tampa Bay’s defensive starters gave up 18 yards and one first down throughout their two possessions. ILB Lavonte David’s sack of QB Matt Ryan killed the primary one and CB Sean Murphy-Bunting’s third-down blitz led to an incompletion and one other kick. The Bucs did maintain a couple of defenders out as a result of minor accidents, with Anthony Nelson changing Joe Tryon-Shoyinka at one edge spot and undrafted rookie Nolan Turner getting plenty of motion with safeties Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal out.
Bowles was impressed with the work of David in his restricted time on the sector.
“He is been wholesome, he is taking good care of his physique this summer season,” mentioned Bowles. “He comes on the market, he is our chief – he is one among our leaders, him and Devin [White] each and he flies round. He understands the sport.”
With the starters taking the early snaps, Bowles had his consideration on how the youthful roster hopefuls would fare on particular groups, which will be the deciding issue within the looming cutdown to 53 gamers for the common season.
“I needed to see if the younger guys might play [special] groups with out taking part in protection or offense first and perceive the sport and situational soccer after they did not should be in there the entire recreation,” mentioned Bowles. “It was an excellent studying expertise. I believed the blokes on the second unit performed nicely; I believed the youthful guys in sure conditions did not play sensible soccer.”
Second-year offensive lineman Robert Hainsey began the sport at heart after which stayed in to get extra motion after many of the starters departed. On a landing drive led by Blaine Gabbert and completed by third-year RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn on a one-yard run, Hainsey went down with an ankle damage and didn’t return to the sport, although he walked off on his personal energy. Hainsey was already changing injured Professional Bowl heart Ryan Jensen within the lineup, and the Buccaneers additionally misplaced potential beginning guard Aaron Stinnie to a knee damage in final weekend’s recreation at Tennessee. To make issues worse, Hainsey’s speedy substitute, Nick Leverett, additionally left the sport with a shoulder damage, leaving the snaps at heart to first-year man John Molchon.
Bowles mentioned Hainsey and Leverett would get X-ray examinations within the subsequent two days however that it was too early to know the way extreme their accidents had been. Brady famous how shortly conditions can change within the NFL as a result of damage however expressed confidence in Hainsey.
“Robust place – that is an enormous place for an offense, the middle place,” mentioned Brady. “Clearly, all of us hated to lose Ryan, and the extent of that we’re nonetheless making an attempt to determine. However it may be some time. Hainsey’s stepped in and carried out an excellent job. He labored actually arduous to realize the boldness of his teammates final yr and the belief of the entire group. He’ll should do an ideal job. Hopefully he can recover from what occurred tonight and be able to go. That is still to be seen.”
Vaughn was one of many Buccaneers’ prime standouts on offense, coming in after Leonard Fournette took half in a single drive and rookie Rachaad White obtained a handful of carries. Vaughn carried 9 occasions for 36 yards and a landing; mid-August addition Patrick Laird performed a lot of the second half and contributed 54 yards on 12 carries and three catches.
The Colts used 4 totally different quarterbacks and the Buccaneers used three, and the outcomes had been typical of a preseason finale with about 150 gamers moving into the combo and neither group opening up its playbook. The 2 groups mixed for 536 yards of offense and 26 first downs, and every group dedicated a number of offensive holding penalties. Tampa Bay transformed simply one among its 11 third-down tries on offense. There have been, it is value noting, no turnovers within the recreation.
RB Leonard Fournette obtained the opening drive began off on an excellent notice by slicing over left guard for a recreation of 13, breaking a sort out to get previous the first-down sticks. A pass-interference name on Colts CB Stephon Gilmore led to a different first down on the Bucs’ 44 however the Bucs confronted a fourth-and-three simply throughout midfield after a seven-yard catch by TE Cam Brate. Brady hurried the offense as much as the road and threw a fast slant to WR Tyler Johnson to maintain the drive alive. Jones ran a deep comebacker on the best sideline on the subsequent play for 20 yards to get the ball into the pink zone. The drive stalled on the 12, nonetheless, and the Bucs settled for a 30-yard Ryan Succop subject objective.
The Colts’ first drive obtained off to an excellent begin when the impressively spry Ryan took off on an 11-yard run on second down. S Mike Edwards and ILB Devin White then mixed to cease RB Deon Jackson for no achieve up the center and David’s well-time blitz on second down led to a seven-yard sack of Ryan and primarily killed the drive.
The Bucs introduced in Gabbert and a lineup of principally offensive reserves on the subsequent possession and went nowhere on a trio of Rachaad White runs. Rookie punter Jake Camarda needed to kick it away along with his heels on the again line of the tip zone however he blasted a 63-yard punt that at the very least compelled the Colts to start out recent on their aspect of the sector, on the 44.
