The New York Jets were embarrassed last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. While losing to Buffalo was unsurprising, the team was expected to show significantly more fight than it did. New York was severely outplayed and outcoached. Any positivity from Week 1 died before the Jets’ fourth offensive play.
Now standing at 0-2, the Jets must show some semblance of life against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If not, another season will essentially be over before October.
Here’s everything you need to know about New York’s Week 3 opponent.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ coaching staff
The Buccaneers are led by former Jets head coach Todd Bowles, who was hired by New York back in 2015.
Bowles’ first year in New York started with Geno Smith’s jaw getting broken by a teammate and ended with Ryan Fitzpatrick’s epic meltdown against the Buffalo Bills, causing them to miss the playoffs at 10-6. That was the last time the Jets were above .500, and Bowles was later fired after amassing a 24-40 record over four seasons.
Nine days later, Bowles joined the Buccaneers as their defensive coordinator, where he would win the Super Bowl in 2020. He would take over as head coach in 2022 following Bruce Arians’ retirement. In the three years since, he’s accumulated a 29-24 record and won the NFC South each year.
Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard is doing his best to repeat the success of Liam Coen, the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Joining the team in 2024 as the passing game coordinator, the 35-year-old Grizzard has ascended quickly after serving as a quality control coach for the Miami Dolphins just two years ago.
On the defensive side, the responsibility is split between run game coordinator/outside linebackers coach Larry Foote and passing game coordinator George Edwards.
Buccaneers Offense
Offensive depth chart
Quarterback:Â Baker Mayfield, Teddy Bridgewater
Running backs:Â Bucky Irving, Rachaad White
Wide receiver:Â Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka (R), Sterling Shepard
Tight end:Â Cade Otton, Payne Durham
Offensive line:Â LT: Graham Barton, LG: Elijah Klein, C: Ben Bredeson, RG: Luke Haggard, RT: Charlie Heck
The Buccaneers are led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who has exceeded all expectations in Tampa. Since arriving in 2023, Baker leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (74), is second in passing yards (8,926), and ranks fifth in passer rating (100.6). Part of the reason for this success is the star-studded cast around him.
The wide receiver room is the greatest strength of the team and led by Mike Evans, one of the most dominant receivers in the NFL for the last decade. He’s yet to record a touchdown this season, but still has team-highs of 10 receptions and 107 yards.
Former All-Pro Chris Godwin Jr. is still working his way back from injury, but the unit has not missed a beat without him. Rookie Emeka Egbuka has hauled in three touchdowns along with eight receptions for 96 yards. Former New York Giant Sterling Shepard has been productive as well, recording seven receptions for 73 yards.
The Buccaneers’ offensive line has been a strength in past years, but it is decimated by injuries going into Week 3. Three of the unit’s primary starters will miss the contest.
All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs has yet to play this season and will be out on Sunday. Right tackle Luke Goedeke suffered a foot injury in Week 2 that landed him on injured reserve. Finally, right guard Cody Mauch suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 despite playing every snap in the game.
2025 Offensive Statistics
Total yards per game:Â 310.0 (21st)
Yards per play:Â 4.8 (23rd)
Points per game:Â 21.5 (20th)
Rushing yards per carry:Â 5.1 (5th)
Rushing touchdowns per game:Â 0.5 (18th)
Net passing yards per attempt:Â 4.7 (29th)
Passing touchdowns per game:Â 2.5 (6th)
Passer rating:Â 98.6 (11th)
Turnovers per game:Â 0
Sacks allowed:Â 2.5 (19th)
Red zone scoring:Â 75.0% (8th)
3rd down conversion rate:Â 46.4% (6th)
4th down conversion rate:Â 100% (Only two attempts)
Buccaneers Defense
Defensive depth chart
Nose Tackle:Â Vita Vea, Greg Gaines
Defensive Ends: Logan Hall, Elijah Roberts (R)
Outside Linebackers:Â Yaya Diaby, Haason Reddick, Chris Braswell (R), Anthony Nelson
Inside Linebacker:Â Lavonte David, SirVocea Dennis, Deion Jones
Cornerback:Â Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish (NB, R)
Safety:Â Antoine Winfield Jr., Tykee Smith
Tampa Bay’s defensive strength is the secondary. Leading the group is veteran safety Antoine Winfield Jr., a former All-Pro. Winfield is one of the best run defenders in the NFL, and no slouch in coverage either. Finally healthy after an injury-riddled 2024 season, he’s off to a good start in 2025.
Second-year free safety Tykee Smith has been impressive as well, ranking top 10 at the position in both tackles (14, fourth) and defensive stops (4, tied for ninth).
The Buccaneers’ cornerback room has exceeded expectations so far in 2025, driven by their excellent run defense. Tampa Bay’s corners have the second-highest composite run defense grade at Pro Football Focus.
While Jamel Dean has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL against the run, his coverage has started to slip in recent years. From 2019 to 2022, Dean only allowed 24.1 yards per game, compared to 41.3 in the last three years.
The biggest surprise is third-round rookie Jacob Parrish, who has allowed just five yards on four targets. PFF is very high on him, scoring Parrish with an 80.6 overall grade (2nd among 26 cornerbacks with at least 40 snaps in the slot), 79.9 coverage grade (2nd), and 76.3 run defense grade (4th).
While the Bucs’ secondary has been rock solid, their front seven has taken a step back from its peak at the start of the decade. Veteran anchors Vita Vea and Lavonte David have seen their play steadily decline over the last several years and are off to the worst starts of their careers.
Unlike the secondary, the players added to the front seven have failed to produce as hoped. To make the situation even worse, defensive tackle Calijah Kancey has been lost for the year with a season-ending injury.
The biggest threat is one of the Jets’ biggest disappointments from 2024, Haason Reddick. Back to his natural outside linebacker position, Reddick has 11 pressures (fifth among all defenders) on an impressive 19.6% pressure rate (fifth among 60 edge rushers with 70+ snaps).
2025 Defensive Statistics
Total yards per game:Â 312.0 (15th)
Yard per play:Â 5.3 (18th)
Points per game:Â 19.5 (13th)
Rushing yards per carry:Â 3.3 (5th)
Rushing touchdowns per game:Â 1.0 (22nd)
Net passing yards per attempt:Â 6.7 (25th)
Passing touchdowns per game:Â 1.0 (7th)
Passer rating allowed:Â 94.6 (17th)
Turnovers per game:Â 0
Sacks per game:Â 2.0 (21st)
Red zone scoring:Â 25.0% (4th)
3rd down conversion rate:Â 33.3% (9th)
4th down conversion rate:Â 60.0% (17th)
Storylines and Battles to Watch
Can the defensive line capitalize on the injury-riddled Buccaneers offensive line?
While the loss of Jermaine Johnson is big for the Jets, the defensive line has no excuse to not win its matchup. The Buccaneers lost the right side of their offensive line this past week and have their center replacing left tackle Tristan Wirfs.
On the season, the Buccaneers’ offensive linemen have allowed pressure on 8.0% of their pass-blocking snaps, the highest rate in the NFL. This number is likely to increase with backups replacing two of their best linemen.
As currently constructed, Tampa Bay’s offensive line is one of the worst units in the NFL on paper. The question is whether the Jets can take advantage of it.
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and defensive end Will McDonald are lined up to have excellent games. However, the rest of the defensive line needs to step up with Johnson out. The Jets will be hoping defensive tackle Jowon Briggs can repeat his performance from last week, when he had three pressures (including a sack) and four stops.
Rookie Armand Membou vs. former NY Jets Haason Reddick
Rookie offensive tackle Armand Membou has exceeded all expectations through the first two weeks of his career. Not only has he been one of the best rookies in the NFL, but he has also been one of the best offensive tackles in the entire NFL. He has an 86.8 run-blocking grade at PFF and hasn’t allowed a sack yet.
After facing players like T.J. Watt and Joey Bosa, Membou will have another test against Haason Reddick this week, who spends most of his time on the defense’s left side (across from the right tackle).
The Reddick trade was a debacle for New York. He missed the first eight games pursuing a long-term extension and was ineffective when he finally got on the field. That has not been the case in Tampa Bay, where Reddick is a much better scheme fit than he was in New York. Reddick’s speed around the corner will challenge the athletic Membou.
Can the Jets defense finally force a turnover?
The Jets’ defense has struggled to start the season. They allowed at least 30 points in each of their first two games and have yet to take the ball away.
New York’s inability to force turnovers has been one of the defense’s biggest issues in recent years, even when the unit was thriving overall. So far in 2025, they have let multiple interception opportunities slip through their fingers. To the Jets’ credit, they have forced three opponent fumbles, although each one bounced back to the offense.
The Buccaneers struggled with turnovers in 2024, tying for the 10th-most giveaways with 23. Baker Mayfield tied for the league lead with 16 interceptions.
So far in 2025, Tampa Bay has yet to turn the ball over. Given Mayfield’s track record, though, he is due to toss a pick at some point. This afternoon feels like a great time for New York to force its first few turnovers of the season.