Takeaways from Tampa Bay Buccaneers Preseason Loss to Titans

Our observations and takeaways from Tampa Bay's 34-3 loss to Tennessee on Saturday night.

Perhaps it should have been somewhat expected as both teams sat their starters, but the result Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason game against the Tennessee Titans was far from what it would have looked like in the regular season.

Tampa Bay punted twice more in the first half (five times) than it converted first downs (three), and entered the fourth quarter with just five first-down conversions under its belt. In the end, Tampa Bay would score just three points compared to the Titans 34.

As one could assume, there weren't too many positives to take away from the loss. However, some players stood out in a good way and there were plenty of concerns worth noting, combining to off numerous takeaways from the contest.

You can find AllBucs' observations from Tampa Bay's performance below.

O.J. Howard disappoints despite ample opportunities, but Bruce Arians isn't worried

Tight end O.J. Howard was one of the few starters to get playing time as he continues his return to form from a season-ending torn Achilles injury last year, and didn't make the most of his snaps. 

Howard was targeted six times, the third most of any Bucs pass catcher, but only hauled in three of those passes for 24 yards, dropping a pass on the first drive, another later, and allowing a strip-sack in the second quarter.

Head coach Bruce Arians wasn't as worried about Howard's performance as one would think, though, acknowledging that Howard is still "shaking off a hell of a lot of rust” after the game.

“[The drop were] not concerning because he came back and caught the ball on some grimier ones, but those were easy ones," Arians said. "He’s made those in practice and there’s a time when you have to switch gloves when they get too wet. I think the one just squirted through him hands but after that he caught everything. It’s not concerning.”

Missed tackles galore

You would need more than two hands to count how many tackles the Buccaneers missed on Saturday night. From the defensive line to the linebackers and members of the secondary, ball-handlers slipped out of Buccaneers player's grips all evening long. 

AllBucs counted seven throughout the night that were identifiable, including two misses from edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and this count doesn't include missed tackles where players couldn't be identified on the broadcast view. There had to have been more than ten misses once the game concluded.

Our tracker for missed tackles knocked Tryon-Shoyinka, cornerbacks Ross Cockrell and Dee Delaney, linebackers Joe Jones and Grant Stuard, and defensive tackle Khalil Davis, among others.

This is the second week in a row where Tampa Bay's defensive depth has struggled to wrap up ball carriers and bring them to the ground. This is an issue that must be cleaned up before the season starts if these players want to take the field this year, as several of them are expected to make the final roster.

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka shines once again

Remember when Tryon-Shoyinka recorded his first career sack in his NFL debut last week, only for it to be called off due to a penalty? Well, it didn't take him long to quickly replicate his first career sack - and this time the play stood.

Tryon-Shoyinka abused Tennessee's right tackle on a dip-and-rip pass rush move to breeze by his outside shoulder to sack quarterback Matt Barkley in the second quarter. He utilized the same move to create pressure earlier in the drive and also displayed a powerful bull rush to create pressure within the same quarter.

Yes, Tryon-Shoyinka's missed tackles noted earlier present an issue and he must clean those up. One miss came after Tryon-Shoyinka did a good on containing a run, where he whiffed on finishing the play, leaving that job to linebacker K.J. Britt. However, you can't not be excited by the positives Tryon-Shoyinka has put on tape thus far in the preseason. Arians certainly is.

“I don’t have to say any more about Joe," Arians told media postgame. "He does what he does.”

Too many turnovers 

A large part of why the Buccaneers couldn't move the ball was the fact that they could barely hold onto it. Rookie quarterback Kyle Trask threw two interceptions in the second half, although one pick came off of the hands of tight end Codey McElroy before being caught by safety Jamal Carter. 

Trask also made a great throw to tight end Tanner Hudson up the seam which Hudson lost control of as he hit the ground, which resulted in the ball bobbling out of his possession and into the hands of cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun, who returned it for a touchdown. 

The call was controversial - some believed Hudson caught the ball and was down by contact, others think he never fully possessed the ball and it was intercepted off of his bobble. One way or another, although the pass was nice, the play resulted in another turnover.

That fumble call, right or wrong, was one of six times the Buccaneers fumbled throughout the entire game - Trask dropped the ball on a roll-out which the Bucs recovered, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin each fumbled once, as well as receivers Jaelon Darden and Cyril Grayson. Fortunately for Tampa, only Hudson's was recovered by Tennessee.

Pat O'Connor has a big game

Arians indicated after the loss that defensive lineman Pat O'Connor locked up a spot on the roster with a great game on Saturday night.

O'Connor heard his name called often as he finished the night with three total tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, his first TFL coming on the Bucs defense's initial drive on the field for a loss of one on a run play. It wasn't long after O'Connor's first impact play where he made another, stuffing a Jeremy McNichols run for a loss of four.

O'Connor sacked quarterback Logan Woodside in the second quarter for a loss of eight yards on 2nd and 8, setting the Titans up for a long third down which was not converted upon.

AllBucs marked O'Connor as a player to keep an eye on during Saturday night's game as the competition for depth roles on the defensive line has been pretty packed. A piece of the depth puzzle has been solidified, though, thanks to his performance and earning the complete trust of Arians for his play.

Bubble players make impressive plays

• Wide receiver Tyler Johnson caught back-to-back passes on crossing routes at the beginning of the game, including an intermediate route to convert a first down on 3rd and 4.
• Nickel cornerback Antonio Hamilton made a tackle for loss on a run blitz.
• Defensive lineman Khalil Davis posted a tackle for loss and initiated a sack that was wrapped up by linebacker Grant Stuard.
• Tight end Tanner Hudson led the team in receiving for the second week in a row, hauling in six passes for 74 yards with a long of 26.

Stay tuned to AllBucs for further coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' preseason updates, and other news and analysis. Follow along on social media at @SIBuccaneers on Twitter and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.