Buccaneer Blitz, Tampa, FL (2026)

10/28/2026

BUCCANEERBLITZ | Todd Bowles Finally Found His Base Defense — And It's Changing Everything

I have been asking for this since 2020. Todd Bowles has taken his foot off the blitz pedal. At least somewhat. And the results have been nothing short of transformative.

A LITTLE HISTORY

In seven years of watching Bowles coach this defense, there have been only a few occasions where he trusted his players to operate in a true base defense. The 2020 Super Bowl run and a 2024 regular season win against the Lions. Two instances in five years.

The problem has always been the same. When the blitz works, Bowles blitzes more. When it does not work, he blitzes more anyway. The scheme has never had a reliable foundation to fall back on.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT NOW

Bowles is letting Anzalone and Trotter play at their natural depth off the line of scrimmage. That one adjustment changes everything downstream. Better vision. Cleaner run fits. Proper zone positioning in pass coverage. Players are no longer getting washed out before they can impact plays.

And here is the most important part. Better coverage gives defensive linemen more time to work. Quarterbacks cannot dump the ball off immediately because the short and intermediate zones are covered. They hold the ball an extra beat. That extra beat is all a pass rusher needs.

David Walker is getting sacks. Muhammad is getting into backfields. Yaya Diaby had three sacks Sunday. Vita Vea and Kancey are disrupting timing. The entire pass rush group is producing because the coverage behind them is finally giving them room to operate. That is cause and effect, not coincidence.

THE COVERAGE VARIATIONS MAKE IT COMPLETE

Bowles has also mixed in more four-deep and quarters coverages alongside his traditional three-deep zone. This gives safeties help over the top and lets corners play more aggressively.

And the best part? When your defense is playing consistent coverage all game, the occasional blitz becomes a genuine surprise again. For years Bowles' blitzes were the most predictable thing on the field. Offenses prepared for them all week. Now, with coverage being the foundation, the blitz lands at moments when it can actually change a game.

KEEP IT UP, COACH

A base defense the players can rely on. Organic pass rush from the front four. Coverage variations that support the corners and safeties. And blitzes used as a weapon of surprise rather than a weekly crutch. Sunday in Carolina, all of it showed up simultaneously.

This is what we have been asking for. Keep it going.

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10/26/2026

10/26 Monday Rant: Only Thing Left to Rant About Is Why Now?

Yesterday's spanking of the Carolina Panthers was the best complete performance this Buccaneers team has put together since the Liam Coen days. And I mean that without any reservation. This team did everything right on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte.

Run the ball and control the clock? Check. Get after Bryce Young consistently? Check. Force turnovers? Check. Dominate on special teams? Check. Win the coaching battle from the opening drive to the final whistle? Check, check, and check.

It was beautiful. It was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football we have been waiting to see all season long.

BUT NOW COMES THE UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTION

Now let me be clear about something before anyone gets too comfortable. It takes two teams to produce a game like that. One team to nail every assignment, execute the game plan, and get every bounce. And one team to not show up, lose every individual battle, and hand you momentum you did nothing to earn. Both things were happening simultaneously at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.

But here is what I cannot dismiss regardless of Carolina's performance. This Buccaneers team has not put together anything remotely close to that type of complete game even through last season. Not once. That level of three-phase dominance simply had not been on display. So something was different on Sunday. The question is what.

THIS IS WHERE MY RESERVATIONS STAY

Has this coaching staff finally figured out what this group of players does well? Because Sunday sure made it look that way. And if that is the answer, then the follow-up question is painfully obvious.

Why did it take seven weeks and a 1-5 record to figure it out?

This team is too talented to be sitting at 2-5 at this point of the season. Sunday proved that talent is genuinely there. The running game was dominant. The pass rush was ferocious. The secondary created turnovers. The special teams made plays. That is not an average roster. That is a roster that has been underperforming its talent level for most of this season, and that falls on the coaching staff before it falls on the players.

A complete game like Sunday's gives me real hope for the rest of this season. It also gives me continued and very real reservations about a coaching staff that needed seven weeks of struggle to unlock what was apparently sitting right there in front of them the whole time.

WHAT WE WANT

We want to cheer this team on every Sunday the way we did yesterday. Every single week. That is not a complicated ask. The talent is there. Sunday proved it beyond any reasonable doubt.

I just hope the coaches can find a way to stop being an obstacle to it.

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10/26/2026

Buccaneers Dominate Panthers 43 - 13

NOW that is a Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team. WHERE has this been all season?

Bucky Irving rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns as the Bucs racked up 258 yards on the ground, and Tampa Bay's defense forced four turnovers in the 43-13 rout of the Carolina Panthers. Dominant. All three phases. Everything clicking at once.

THE RUNNING GAME: FINALLY UNLEASHED

258 rushing yards. 49 carries. The was the most of the gap scheme we’ve seen all season. Baker Mayfield finished with just 11 pass attempts. "With all of these handoffs, I don't know, my thumb might be pretty sore," he joked after the game. When your quarterback attempts eleven passes and you win by 30, your running game is doing something very, very right.

THE DEFENSE: YAYA DIABY FINALLY SHOWS UP

Tampa Bay sacked Bryce Young five times and forced three turnovers including two interceptions and a strip sack. Yaya Diaby recorded three sacks, including two on Carolina's opening possession of the third quarter. Three sacks. In one game. The player we have been waiting all season to show up finally arrived in Charlotte in the loudest possible way.

Tykee Smith blocked an extra point attempt and Zyon McCollum returned it for a defensive two-point conversion. Special teams contributing positively. A sentence rarely written about this team in 2026 until today.

WHERE HAS THIS BEEN?

The record is 2-5. The hole is still deep. But today proved this team is capable of playing dominant, complete football when everything clicks together. A running game that punishes. A defense that creates turnovers. A coaching staff that committed to a plan and executed it.

Now do it again next week.

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10/23/2026

Week 7: Bucs Win If / Panthers Win If

Week 7 and the Buccaneers are already in do-or-die territory. Some fans still see hope, pointing to a favorable remaining division schedule and the possibility of going 8-3 over the final eleven games. That is the equivalent of asking a baseball team to go 76-29 over their last 105 games. After going 3-12 over their last fifteen regular season games, it is a very tall order. But hey, there is a chance.

Both teams know each other well. Panthers head coach Dave Canales spent time in Tampa as offensive coordinator in 2023. He knows Bowles. Bowles knows him. Carolina has looked genuinely dangerous at times this season while also looking very much like the Carolina Panthers at other times. Here is how both teams set themselves up for victory Sunday.

BUCS WIN IF...

Bucs on Offense: Baker Must Be Healthy and Robinson Must Be Flexible

Baker Mayfield must play and must be fully healthy. Not Baker managing a game with a compromised throwing hand. If he cannot throw at full strength, hand the keys back to Daniels. A limited Baker is not necessarily better than a healthy rookie.

The bigger issue is Zac Robinson's approach. Through six weeks Robinson has gone all-in on one or two concepts per game and ridden them into the ground. Fifteen screens one week, zero the next. Run on every first down one game, abandon the run entirely the next. That is not a balanced offensive philosophy. This week the Panthers require a multi-level attack. Run Bucky Irving inside and outside. Get the ball to Godwin on intermediate routes consistently. With Egbuka out, lean on Hurst's size and catch radius downfield and Johnson's quickness across the middle. Attack every level of the defense. Be flexible, Zac.

Bucs on Defense: Make the Panthers One Dimensional

The Panthers have put up big numbers this season including 37 against the Bears, 34 against the Falcons, and 32 against the Lions. But they build everything off the run game, and the Buccaneers own one of the best run defenses in the NFL. Take away Chuba Hubbard early, force Carolina into obvious passing situations, and Bryce Young loses the RPO looks that make him most dangerous.

Keep generating pressure with the front four the way they did for three quarters against the Steelers. Tighter Panthers formations this week should help Bowles disguise blitz packages better. Give me a Trotter sack, a Walker sack, and a Parrish interception. That is the formula.

PANTHERS WIN IF...

Panthers on Offense: Get Hubbard Going and Unleash McMillan

Establish Chuba Hubbard in the run game and let Young work off RPO action. Young gets the ball out fast, which partially neutralizes an inconsistent pass rush. The biggest mismatch in this game is wide receiver Tetairra McMillan. McMillan can win at every level of the route tree and is a nightmare matchup for any corner. Get him the football early and often.

Panthers on Defense: Let Derrick Brown Eat

The Panthers defense has been up and down through it’s first 5 games. They gave up 59 to the Bears in week 1, but then held the Falcons to 3 in week 2. Even with Baker Mayfield probably back to start for the Bucs, this defense should best it’s 24.6 points per game allowed.

Linebacker Devin Lloyd has been outstanding this season with 35 tackles and two interceptions through five games. He will be disruptive all afternoon. And defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who already has five sacks on the season, should feast against the interior of this Buccaneers offensive line. That matchup alone could define how this game plays out.

FINAL WORD

Remember last year when Bowles said teams who run 30 times against the Panthers tend to win? The Bucs got to 33 rushing attempts that day. And lost 23-20 with only 145 passing yards. A ridiculous pregame statement that became an even more ridiculous game plan. Classic Bowles. Keep it close. Lose anyway.

Prediction: Bucs LOSE 27-17

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10/22/2026

BUCCANEERBLITZ: Hearing Mike Evans Talk About San Francisco Hurts More Than Watching Him Play There

Watching Mike Evans torch defenses in a 49ers uniform on Sunday afternoons is difficult. But hearing him explain why he left Tampa Bay is something else entirely. That one cuts deeper.

Evans spoke this week about his move to San Francisco and what drew him there. He talked about needing to go to a team that would do anything to win. A team with the coaching, the talent, and the management committed to getting to the Super Bowl. Every word landed like a gut punch. Not because it was unexpected, but because it confirmed what many of us feared. Mike Evans did not feel any of that in Tampa Bay. Not at the end. Not enough to stay.

Think about that for a moment. Thirteen seasons. A Hall of Fame career in red and pewter. Every franchise receiving record this organization has. And when he finally decided to leave, his explanation was essentially that the Buccaneers were not serious enough about winning.

He is not wrong.

TWO TEAMS AT THE SAME CROSSROADS WHO CHOSE DIFFERENTLY

We are six seasons removed from our Super Bowl championship. The salary cap hangover was real and the rebuilding process was painful and necessary. But here is the part that stings the most. Two years ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the San Francisco 49ers were standing at virtually the same crossroads. Both teams had the potential to take the next step and become legitimate NFC contenders. Both had pieces worth building around. Both faced decisions about whether to push their chips to the center of the table or play it safe.

San Francisco pushed their chips in. They made personnel moves. They made coaching adjustments. They traded for impact players. They spent money with conviction and urgency. They operated like an organization that genuinely believed a championship was within reach and was willing to do whatever it took to get there.

Tampa Bay hoped.

Hoped the draft picks would develop into stars. Hoped the latest offensive coordinator would unlock something the previous one couldn't. Hoped Todd Bowles’ defense could finally finish a football game. Hope is not a plan. Hope has never been a plan. And the gap between where San Francisco is today and where Tampa Bay is today is the direct result of one organization acting with conviction and another acting with comfort.

The 49ers are not afraid to make personnel changes, coaching changes, or spend money aggressively. They do not operate on a cycle of spending heavily for a few years and then going quiet for a decade. They spend because they are committed to winning consistently. There is a culture in San Francisco that demands excellence and holds people accountable when excellence is not delivered.

I have no ill will toward Mike Evans. None. He did exactly what any competitor with options should do in that situation. Why should he spend the final years of a Hall of Fame career at a place that is simply hoping for more success rather than actively building toward it? He deserved better. He went and found better.

THE MOMENT IT WAS ALREADY OVER

There is no way Mike Evans did not know he was done in Tampa the night he stood on the sideline screaming "Third and 28?! Fourth and 14?!” during last season's Thursday night disaster against the Falcons. He was not a coach in that moment. He was not a leader composing himself for his teammates. He was a frustrated fan. He was all of us sitting at home yelling at our television screens, except he was wearing a uniform and standing on the field.

When one of your most respected leaders stops hiding his frustration and wears it publicly on the sideline during a nationally televised game, it is already everywhere in the locker room. It does not stay contained. It does not disappear after the final whistle. It seeps into everything. The meetings. The walkthroughs. The quiet moments before practice. When the players stop believing in the system, the culture has already shifted somewhere very dark.

That is why I said after the Buccaneers decided to retain Todd Bowles for another season that all this team needed was one early hiccup and the wheels would fall off. The foundation was not stable enough to absorb adversity. And the moment the losses started piling up in September, everything that had been simmering beneath the surface came rushing to the top.

Yes, there are professionals in that locker room who are working hard every single day and refusing to quit on their teammates. That deserves acknowledgment and respect. But this team has crossed a very specific and very dangerous line. They have gone from playing to win to playing not to lose. From believing they can close games to wondering how they will find a way to blow them. That is not a switch you flip back easily. Momentum and confidence are fragile things at every level of competition, and once a locker room loses faith in its coaching staff and its scheme, earning that faith back is one of the hardest things in professional sports.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Watching Mike Evans make spectacular plays on Sunday afternoons in San Francisco is painful. But hearing him confirm in his own words what we all suspected was the reality is something entirely different.

It is the sound of a franchise being called out by its greatest player.

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10/19/2026

10/19 Monday Rant: Who Would Have Thought Our Season Would Be Over by Week 7?**

I have written extensively about the price of accepting mediocrity, and I started that conversation long before many local publications and websites recently jumped on the bandwagon. But I never imagined it would get this bad, this quickly.

I have sat through some truly dark stretches of Buccaneers football. Fourteen consecutive losing seasons from 1983 through 1996. The long, painful rebuilding years of 2008 through 2019. I have experienced the absolute worst this franchise has had to offer. But I genuinely believed that this ownership group and these decision-makers had learned one fundamental lesson from all of it: rebuilding a winning culture is significantly harder than maintaining one. They had been there. They had done that. They watched Tom Brady walk in the door and transform this franchise overnight, and they watched what happened when he left. This franchise has a notorious history of struggling to turn things around once it hits rock bottom.

And yet here we are. Week 7. 1-5. Season over.

We kept Todd Bowles because the organization did not want to risk being worse than his mediocre .500 record. The comfort of known mediocrity over the uncertainty of something new. And now, less than halfway through the 2026 season, we are already worse. Tony Dungy said it best. If you are not getting better, you are getting worse. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are getting worse.

HOW YESTERDAY HAPPENED

Against a very average Pittsburgh Steelers team, this defense put together arguably its best three quarters of football all season. 16-3 heading into the fourth quarter. Everything was working. And then it all fell apart in the most familiar, most predictable way imaginable.

The offense tried to run the ball on first down over and over again without success, consistently putting themselves in second-and-nine and second-and-ten situations that completely handcuffed the play calling. Jalon Daniels could not hit open receivers in the second half. The defense, unable to make any meaningful adjustments after the 3rd quarter, surrendered five consecutive scoring drives to end the game and overtime. Twenty-three points. Five drives. No answers.

Same pattern. Different week.

THE HONEST PLAYER EVALUATIONS

Jalon Daniels is a genuinely great story and has shown flashes of real ability throughout this run as the starter. But he is a good backup quarterback. He is not the answer for this franchise at the position. That is not criticism. That is honest evaluation.

Zac Robinson has shown moments of creativity this season, but the gap between what he has produced and what Liam Coen was doing with this offense in 2024 is significant and impossible to ignore at this point.

We have no legitimate number one wide receiver on this roster. Emeka Egbuka has the talent to be a very good number two receiver if given a true stud to play alongside. Right now he is being asked to be something he is not.

On the bright side, A'Shawn Robinson recorded his second interception of the season. At this rate, maybe we should move him to defensive back. Rueben Bain Jr. finally got his first sack of the season. David Walker notched his third, continuing to be the most consistent pass rusher on this entire roster.

Lastly, our defense looks functionally identical with or without Winfield on the field. That is not an indictment of Winfield. That is an indictment of how Todd Bowles is using him. We’re 5 and 3 in the last 8 games he’s been out.

LOOKING AHEAD

It is genuinely sad to be sitting here in mid-October thinking about draft positioning and college quarterbacks. But that is the reality of where this franchise is right now. We are 1-5. The season is over in any meaningful sense. The conversations worth having now are about what comes next. New coaches. New direction. New energy. A front office willing to make bold decisions rather than comfortable ones.

At least we have our Tampa Bay Rays, who are making a run in the ALCS and giving this city something genuinely worth cheering about right now. Let's bring home a championship, Rays!

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10/18/2026

Bucs 4th Quarter Collapse Leads to Steelers Overtime Win 26-19

1-5. And it hurts in a very specific way this time.

The Buccaneers led 16-3 heading into the fourth quarter. The defense had completely shut down Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh's offense for three quarters. Jalon Daniels was managing the game efficiently. Everything that needed to go right was going right.

And then the fourth quarter started.

Daniels fell off a cliff. Open receivers went uncatchable. Critical third downs went unconverted. An offense that simply needed to sustain drives and run the clock out could not do either. Meanwhile the defense that had been impenetrable for 45 minutes surrendered 23 points in the final quarter and overtime. 23 points. To an offense it had held to 3 for three quarters.

The play calling became inexplicably conservative at moments that demanded aggression. Clock management raised questions that professional coaches should never have to answer. And Aaron Rodgers, given a lifeline he had absolutely no business receiving, walked out of Raymond James Stadium with a victory.

This is not a one-week anomaly. This is a pattern. A coaching pattern. They found another way to lose today. And until something fundamentally changes in how this team is managed when games are on the line, the pattern will continue.

1-5. The Buccaneers found another way.

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10/17/2026

Bucs, Licht, Glazers… go get this guy. He’s the best coach in football right now. Do whatever it takes this offseason. Mastermind.

10/17/2026

Week 6: Bucs Win If / Steelers Win If

Thursday night's win in Dallas felt enormous. And it was. But one win does not fix everything, and the Pittsburgh Steelers arriving at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday represent a genuine step up in competition from a Cowboys team that played one of the worst games of the season. The Steelers are 3-2, playing with confidence, and coming off a 34-22 win over the Colts in which Aaron Rodgers threw three more touchdown passes. Rodgers has thrown three touchdowns in each of his last three games, and this high-powered unit has scored at least 30 points in two of its last three outings. This is not Dallas. Here is how both teams set themselves up for victory Sunday.

BUCS WIN IF...

Bucs on Offense: Build on Dallas, Establish the Run Early

The most encouraging development from Thursday night was not the final score. It was Bucky Irving rushing for 165 yards behind a combination of wide zone and gap schemes that finally clicked the way Zac Robinson drew it up. The Buccaneers are averaging 133 rushing yards per game through five weeks, ranking seventh in the NFL. A number that reflects a running game with genuine identity when the offensive coordinator commits to the scheme. Building on that against Pittsburgh is priority number one on Sunday.

With Baker Mayfield's thumb keeping him out for another week, Jalon Daniels needs to do exactly what he did in Dallas: manage the game, protect the football, take the quick reads Robinson designs for him, and let the running game do the heavy lifting. Pittsburgh will have more answers to counter the Buccaneers' passing game than Dallas did, which makes the run game a necessity on Sunday.

The one area where Daniels needs to improve from Dallas is his willingness to let go of the ball on time. The Buccaneers rank 30th in the NFL in sack rate, which is an ugly number that reflects both the offensive line's struggles and a quarterback who holds the ball longer than the play design calls for. Against T.J. Watt, who recently became the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach 100 career sacks, holding the ball too long is not an option. Get it out. Trust the design. Stay upright.

Bucs on Defense: Contain Rodgers' Quick Release and Stop Freiermuth and Washington

Tampa Bay has been solid defensively, and is one of just seven teams allowing fewer than 300 yards of offense per game through five weeks.

The Buccaneers' run defense is allowing only 3.3 yards per carry, second fewest in the league. Pittsburgh will deploy heavy 12 and even 13 personnel packages with tight ends Darnell Washington, Pat Freiermuth, and Robert Tonyan as extra blockers to help establish the run. The Buccaneers need to win that battle up front.

But Aaron Rodgers is a different challenge than anyone this defense has faced in 2026. Rodgers is a master at getting rid of the ball quickly to avoid pressure, though he has been sacked 14 times already this season, and pressure coming directly up the middle has been the most disruptive against him. That is the blueprint. Kancey, Vea, and A'Shawn Robinson need to collapse the interior pocket before Rodgers can find his rhythm. Win the A and B gaps. Make him uncomfortable from inside out rather than simply trying to loop around the edges.

Get a few stops on third down. Force a couple of Rodgers impatience throws. Convert the turnovers when they come. That is the formula.

STEELERS WIN IF...

Steelers on Offense: Rodgers Gets Hot and Warren Explodes Again

Jaylen Warren has been playing some of the best football of his career recently, recording 188 yards from scrimmage in the most recent game that included an 80-yard touchdown catch and a 50-yard touchdown run. If Warren finds the same kind of explosive production against a Buccaneers defense that ranks second in run defense, Pittsburgh's offense becomes nearly impossible to stop. A balanced attack of Warren's explosiveness and Rodgers' efficiency gives the Buccaneers' defense problems it has not yet seen in 2026.

Aaron Rodgers is at his best when defenses play soft coverage underneath and invite him to dissect them with precision throws to the intermediate level. Let him settle in, find his rhythm with Freiermuth and Washington over the middle, and this could be a very long afternoon for Tampa Bay's secondary.

Pittsburgh's offense has improved significantly since a slow start, now averaging just under 30 points per game and raising its per-carry average from 3.4 yards to 4.7. A team trending in that direction coming to town is not a comfortable matchup for a 1-4 home team trying to build momentum.

Steelers on Defense: Make Daniels Beat You Vertically

Pittsburgh’s defense is going to test Daniels early with disguised pressures and coverage rotations designed to create confusion before the snap. If Daniels cannot get comfortable quickly, if the offensive line cannot pick up Pittsburgh's blitz packages, and if T.J. Watt gets loose off the edge, this game could mirror the ugliness of the first four weeks very quickly.

The Steelers' defense is quietly solid, allowing the 10th-fewest points per game in the NFL and ranking seventh in third down defense. If the Steelers can slow Bucky Irving, force Daniels to win the game through the air, and get Watt in the backfield early, the Buccaneers' offense is going to have a very difficult afternoon.

FINAL WORD

This is the game that tells us whether Thursday night in Dallas was the beginning of something real or a one-week outlier against an opponent having its worst game of the season. The Steelers are a legitimate 3-2 football team with a Hall of Fame quarterback on a hot streak, an explosive backfield weapon in Jaylen Warren, and a defensive front headlined by arguably the best edge rusher in the NFL.

The Buccaneers need to run the football, protect Daniels from Watt, stop the tight ends over the middle, and hope that Aaron Rodgers' impatience generates a critical turnover or two at the right moment.

It is a tall order. But so was Dallas.

Prediction: Bucs WIN 23-20

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10/15/2026

BUCCANEERBLITZ | WEEK 6 PREP

One Buc Place Is Building Momentum — But Injuries Cloud the Week 6 Picture

Thursday night's win in Dallas was exactly what this franchise needed. Now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back at practice with a full week of preparation ahead of Sunday's home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The energy in the building is different after a win. The challenge now is converting that energy into back-to-back victories for the first time all season. Here is everything happening at One Buc Place this week.

BAKER MAYFIELD'S THUMB

Baker Mayfield did not participate in practice Wednesday or Thursday due to a right thumb injury. Odds are it will be Jalon Daniels at quarterback for one more week, with Baker Mayfield badly wanting to return but the Buccaneers clearly taking a cautious approach with their franchise quarterback's health.

Todd Bowles spoke to the media following Wednesday's practice discussing Baker Mayfield's progression, Jalon Daniels' ability to command the offense, and the challenge of facing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

FULL INJURY REPORT: WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

BUCCANEERS:

On Wednesday, Antoine Winfield Jr. (rib), Baker Mayfield (right thumb), Sean Tucker (quad), Chris Godwin (rest) and Ayden Garnes (ankle) did not participate in practice.

On Thursday, both Baker Mayfield (right thumb) and Antoine Winfield Jr. (rib) again did not participate. A'Shawn Robinson (rest) was added as a limited participant, and Sean Tucker (quad) upgraded to limited participation.

The Winfield situation is the other significant concern beyond Mayfield. Antoine Winfield Jr. did not practice Wednesday or Thursday with a rib injury. Losing Winfield for any stretch of games would be a significant blow to a secondary that has been one of the defense's few consistent strengths through five weeks of the season.

The encouraging news on the injury front is that SirVocea Dennis and Rueben Bain Jr. are both off the injury report to start the week, two players who missed the Cowboys game and whose returns would be a meaningful boost to the defensive rotation. Chris Godwin returned as a full participant Thursday after a rest day Wednesday, and Benjamin Morrison continues his gradual progression as a limited participant.

STEELERS:

The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking healthier heading into Sunday's game. Only wide receivers Roman Wilson (finger) and Ben Skowronek (calf) did not practice Thursday and have already been ruled out for the week. T.J. Watt returned to limited practice Thursday after a rest day Wednesday, his first full practice since Week 2.

Watt's progression is the most important storyline on Pittsburgh's injury report. A healthy T.J. Watt is a completely different defensive equation than a limited one.

OTHER HAPPENINGS

- Tristan Wirfs dealt with cramps in the second half against Dallas in Week 5, so a new knee issue is worth monitoring heading into the week. Getting the full starting offensive line healthy and cohesive against one of the most physically dominant defensive fronts in the AFC is a significant challenge that will require a complete week of focused preparation.

- Zac Robinson spoke to the media this week about the importance of expanding the run package concepts that worked in Dallas. The extra preparation time following Thursday's game gave the coaching staff additional days to develop counters and wrinkles within that wide zone scheme that can keep Pittsburgh's defense guessing throughout the afternoon.

GO BUCS!

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