TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, surprisingly, have only recorded two sacks in two games this season.
The first sack arrived in the second quarter of the opening game against the Dallas Cowboys. Shaquil Barrett hit Dak Prescott on second down on the Buccaneers 21 yard line. The Cowboys lost 12 yards on the play and, ultimately, they were forced to try a 60-yard field goal that fell short.
The second sack belonged to Ndamukong Suh who got to Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan on a third-down play in the second quarter. The Falcons had to punt the ball to the Buccaneers after losing seven yards as a result of that sack.
Now, despite winning back-to-back games and having their defensive strength tied to their front seven, the Buccaneers are tied for the second-lowest amount of sacks in the league through two games. Last season, the Buccaneers finished with the fourth-most sacks in the league with 48.
Their head coach, Bruce Arians, stated his players are winning “a bunch” of their one on one battles but he agreed that that sack statistic could be and should be higher for the Buccaneers.
“Vita [Vea] is killing his guys when he is knocking them into the quarterback and not sacking him but I think we are getting a ton of pressure. We knocked Dak [Prescott] down a bunch of times,” added Arians. “Knocking them down, sometimes, is as good as sacking them. They feel it too but, yes, I’d like to see some more sacks.”