Buccaneers Week 13 Top Performers vs. Arizona Cardinals

For the first time in more than a month, the Buccaneers and their fans again experience victory — though one would hardly call it a particularly encouraging one.

Clunkiness on offense and defense continued to plague Tampa, but enough plays from both sides led to a narrow 20-17 win against the Arizona Cardinals Sunday.

The win pushes Tampa’s record to 7-5 and finally stops the bleeding caused by the team’s annual mid-season slump, as it’s the first W since Oct. 26 against the Saints. It also narrowly holds off the resurgent Carolina Panthers, who sit at 7-6 (the two rivals meet up for the first time in three weeks).

Let’s do some shoutouts and see if the Bucs can build on their moment next week against the flailing New Orleans Saints.

Offensive Top Performer: RB Bucky Irving

Without the spark Irving’s long-awaited return provided, it’s very arguable that the Bucs would have lost.

Irving returned from his battle through shoulder and foot injuries (as well as related mental health struggles) suffered in Week 4 and made a huge impact. The second-year dynamo notched 19 total touches to easily outpace Rachaad White (5) and Sean Tucker (2), turning them into a very efficient 61 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards to go along with a TD. He weaved around tackles, hit the joystick on defenders, and generally looked like his old self, which is massively important for an offense that has been sputtering.

Ideally, you’d like to see the other two more involved, and White did have a touchdown taken away on a questionable OPI penalty, but overall this was a sight for sore eyes.

Another relief came from Chris Godwin, who has continued his uphill battle through leg injuries to make his most prominent impact of the season. Godwin corralled 3 big catches for 78 total yards to lead the team, and he could’ve posted an even better outing if he had held onto an easy TD catch in the first half. There’s still rust to shake off, but there’s clearly still an impactful player wearing No. 14 for Tampa Bay.

But, is there any argument against the best receiver of the day being TRISTAN WIRFS?? The big man made his first career catch and touchdown on a marvelous playcall in the second quarter. Clean release, soft hands, what can’t this man do?

Defensive Top Performer: S Antoine Winfield Jr.

The defense looked lazy and undisciplined again, and it’s officially panic time on that front.

The issues with blown assignments, tackling, and overall effort are an indictment on Todd Bowles, and it’s really questionable how he’s going to fix it during this stretch run. That said, some credit must be given for a couple critical 4th and short stops — one of the few areas where the unit has been reliable this year, as it has allowed only 6 conversions out of 14 attempts on 4th and 2 or shorter.

In terms of individual performances, Winfield Jr. showed up well as usual. On top of some big-time tackles (finished with 7 total) in the run game to cover his teammates’ lackluster attempts, he also corralled a red zone interception on Arizona’s opening drive to keep points off the board.

And while he’s been much-maligned for a majority of the year (mostly deserved), SirVocea Dennis made some big plays that need to be acknowledged. He broke up the pass on the final fourth down, his first pass defensed of the year, and he also created an intentional grounding on a well-played blitz. He made 10 total tackles to lead the team, and while there some misses in there, he’s been better than awful so that should be applauded a little.

Special Teams Top Performer: K Chase McLaughlin

Money McLaughlin, crown him.

The Buccaneers again rode his golden foot to victory, as his 57-yarder in the fourth quarter proved the deciding score. The kick was his NFL-best 9th of 50 yards or more, and it was his 22nd such kick since joining the Bucs — he’s missed only three 50-yarders in that timeframe, for comparison.

Riley Dixon also posted another great day. He averaged 48 yards per kick on 5 punts, including three that were pinned in the 20. His final punt, downed at the 8, proved critical to keeping the Cardinals far away from field goal range and letting the defense pin its ears back. He’s now just outside the top 5 in punts pinned inside the 20, a welcome turnaround from his early-year struggles.