Grading The Buccaneers After Their 24-16 Preseason Win Against The Jets

Let's give some grades out on the Bucs' player performances.

Aug 6, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Ted Hurst III (17) participates in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bucs ended up getting the win against the New York Jets in preseason in Week 1. But which units looked good, bad or somewhere in between? Let's dive deeper into this and assign a grade to each unit that played for the Bucs tonight.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jalon Daniels (10) looks to throw the ball during a preseason opening game between the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Quarterbacks: B

It was a bit of a mixed bag for the quarterbacks tonight, but overall things were positive. Second-year quarterback Connor Bazelak finished the night with 12/20 passing, 72 passing yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Bazelak was also sacked once during the game and had one rush for eight yards.

Undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels impressed greatly with 10 of 15 passes for 111 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. However, Daniels did have three rushes for nine yards and one touchdown to help the Bucs win the game.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Josh Williams (18) scores a rushing touchdown during the second half against New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Running Backs: C+

The team's running backs gave a bit of an uninspiring performance, which I felt was mainly due to the offensive line. The lead rusher in the game was Josh Williams, who had eight carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. Besides that, we saw undrafted rookie Kadarius Calloway rush for 13 yards on eight carries, and Sean Tucker for 12 yards on four carries.

Josh Williams did also have a fumble, which thankfully went out of bounds.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Ted Hurst III (17) reacts after catching a pass for a first down against the New York Jets during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wide Receivers: C+

Garrett Greene led the way for the Bucs tonight with four catches for 54 yards. After that, Dean Patterson had five catches of his own for 24 yards, Dennis Houston had two catches for 23 yards, Ted Hurst III had two catches for 19 yards and Eric Rivers Jr. finished with one catch for 12 yards.

However, the receivers struggled with drops, with Greene and Hurst both having one drop each throughout the game.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Bauer Sharp (84) runs after a catch against the New York Jets during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tight Ends: C

The tight ends were pretty lackluster throughout the Bucs' first preseason game. Rookie Bauer Sharp led the way with four catches for 24 yards and Devin Culp had one catch for 14 yards.

Sharp also had a drop during the game as well, and overall it felt like the tight ends were invisible for most of the game. Sharp also had a fumble which did go out of bounds.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets defensive end Will McDonald Iv (9) sacks Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Connor Bazelak (16) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Offensive Line: D

Overall, the offensive line was not great for the Bucs in this matchup. Bad run blocking, poor pass protection and multiple penalties plagued the offensive line throughout the matchup, and the unit just didn't look great with the backups out there.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Elijah Roberts (95) reacts after sacking New York Jets quarterback Bailey Zappe (not pictured) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defensive Line: B+

I am including both the interior defensive line and outside edge rushing linebackers in this grade. The pass rush did an excellent job of getting after the quarterback, with Jack Pyburn having two sacks, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits. Defensive lineman Elijah Roberts had one sack, two tackles for loss, and one quarterback hit. Jayson Jones also had a pass deflection in this game as well.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Josiah Trotter (45) pursues during the first half against New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Linebackers: B-

Caden Fordham had some good moments in this game, finishing with three total tackles, one tackle for los and one pass deflection. John Bullock also had some good moments as a blitzing linebacker and was able to apply some good pressure on the Jets' quarterbacks.

Aug 14, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ayden Garnes (24) reacts during the first half against New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Defensive Backs: A-

The Bucs defensive backs had a fantastic game in this matchup. Yes, there were a few big passes given up, but overall they did a great job. Damarion Williams finished with 12 total tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, and one pass deflection.

Arguably the best player of the game was Ayden Garnes, who finished with three total tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection and one interception, which he returned for a touchdown. Rashad Wisdom was also solid, with five total tackles, one pass deflection and one interception. Keionte Scott and Roman Parodie also had a pass deflection each in this game.

Nov 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers punter Riley Dixon (9) punts the ball against the Los Angeles Rams during the first quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Special Teams: C+

The good of the Bucs' special teams was Kickers Chase McLaughlin and B.T. Potter making all of their kicks, which was one field goal and one extra point for McLaughlin and two extra points for Potter.

The bad news was punter Riley Dixon, who finished with six punts averaging 45.3 yards per punt, with his longest punt being 57 yards. Dixon still has a very slow windup on his punt, and I really do believe the team should look to bring in some competition based on the results of this game.

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