Ugly pass defense stats.
What is the opposite of success? Failure. And, per NextGen Stats, the Bucs were one big _#Fail_ defending the pass in 2024.
For the second straight season, the Bucs finished fourth-last in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game. (Interesting aside: in 2023 the only three teams that allowed more passing yards per game than the Bucs either had a new defensive coordinator or new head coach in 2024. Those same three teams all made the playoffs last year.)
NextGen Stats reinforces the “baseball card stats” of how bad the Bucs pass defense was last season. Per NextGen, the Bucs allowed the sixth-highest passing success rate in the NFL.
Passing success rate is when an opponent at least 40 percent of yards needed to convert on first downs, 60 percent on second downs and 100 percent on third or fourth downs.
So, it didn’t matter what down teams threw on against the Bucs, they had success. As Joe has pointed out many times, the Bucs need help on all three levels of the defense and Joe believes the NextGen Stats’ passing success rate on the Bucs defense backs Joe up.
So, yeah, the Bucs had a very high failure rate defending the pass.
So yeah, the Bucs need an edge rusher. And they need help at linebacker, even with Lavonte David coming back. And one could make an argument the Bucs need help at both safety and corner.
Could a healthy, rejuvenated Antoine Winfield be the answer? Yes, Joe knows Winfield was hurt all year last year. But he was a far, far cry from the All-Pro level he played at in 2023.