The Buccaneers earned a hard-fought, but much-needed win on the road against the Panthers. While Tampa Bay was able to win on a late stand with its defense, there were still handful of players that didn’t have their best game.
Below is our list of the most disappointing Buccaneers from Thursday night’s 20-14 win.
CB Carlton Davis
Davis had some bright spots, but also had some moments that won’t please head coach Bruce Arians or defensive coordinator Todd Bowles when they turn on the tape.
In the second half, Davis was called for defensive holding which wiped out an interception by linebacker Kevin Minter, and on the Panthers’ final drive, he managed to get away with pass interference that wasn’t initially called, but was challenged by Carolina head coach Ron Rivera. The play wound up not being pass interference because the foul occurred just as Cam Newton released the ball. But Davis wouldn’t be so fortunate a few plays later.
Davis was called for a personal foul as he grabbed the face mask of the receiver he was covering – and even with the penalty, he still allowed the catch. The penalty set the Panthers up with first down at the Tampa Bay 11-yard line with 1:45 remaining.
The defense bailed Davis out and got the stop on fourth-and-1 at the Tampa Bay 2 when Vernon Hargreaves III tackled Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey for no gain, but had the Panthers scored and won the game, Davis might have been buying his own plane ticket back to Tampa.
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