The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played their third preseason on Friday night against the Cleveland Browns. The starting offense played an extensive amount of time but Bruce Arians was very critical of the offensive line.
“They got their ass kicked one-on-one. Simple,” Arians said per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.
The Buccaneers allowed Jameis Winston to start the entirety of the first half and the fifth-year quarterback completed just nine of his 19 passing attempts for 88 yards. However, Winston rarely had time to survey the field as he was sacked five times in the first half.
On the first drive alone, Winston was taken down on back-to-back plays to force the Buccaneers to punt on 4th and 26. That isn't exactly the start to the game that Arians was hoping to see from his first-teamers.
Allowing five sacks isn't exactly encouraging for Arians as it came during the time that the entire starting offensive line was in. The Browns have a talented defensive front but Tampa Bay is going to have to shore up their pass protection in the coming weeks.
As a result of Winston and the offense struggling, the Buccaneers were shut out in the first half by Cleveland. The second and third team guys were able to squeak out a victory, winning the game 13-12. Regardless, Arians doesn't seem content with how his team played—especially the starters.
There are only two weeks remaining before Week 1 of the regular season begins so the Buccaneers will want to fix their mistakes before it is too late. We will see if there is a glaring issue with the offensive line when Tampa Bay faces the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1.
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