The Tampa Bay Buccaneers season from hell continues as the team suffered its fourth straight loss to begin the season, and its 11th defeat in its last 13 games. 

Undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels was thrust into a very difficult situation, needing to find a way to lead his overmatched team to a season-saving win against a difficult opponent in his first NFL start. 

Daniels and the Bucs came up just short, and at 0-4, it is almost time to start looking toward 2027. 

The rookie QB made his share of mistakes, as to be expected, but he didn’t get much help from his teammates in a must-win game. 

Let’s see who rose to the occasion and who helped doom the Bucs to another loss. 

1. Jalon Daniels: Daniels didn’t have a great game by any measure, or even a good one, but he did realize a dream come true by making his first NFL start. 

He only threw for 148 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions, but it wasn’t all bad for the 23-year-old. 

Daniels played with poise, made plays with his arm and legs (55 rushing yards on 8 carries), and got more comfortable as the game went along. He battled until the end and was able to keep his team within striking distance despite nobody else on offense stepping up to help ease his burden. 

2. Jacob Parrish: The second-year cornerback continued his strong play with five total tackles and a huge red zone INT that helped keep Tampa in the game. 

Week after week, Parrish continues to cement himself as the Bucs’ best cornerback. 

3. A’Shawn Robinson: The grizzled veteran defensive tackle continues to prove he was a terrific free agent signing. 

Robinson forced a fumble inside the Tampa five-yard line late in the game and has become one of the team’s vocal leaders. 

1. Emeka Egbuka: Last year’s first-round pick has continued to be inconsistent and was practically invisible against the Packers, recording only two catches for 13 yards, his second game this season being held to fewer than 20 receiving yards. 

Even worse, Egbuka has yet to prove he can be this team’s WR1. He wasn’t able to make any impact and couldn’t help his young QB, who was making his first start. 

2. Todd Bowles and Zac Robinson: I’m lumping Tampa’s head coach and offensive coordinator together because neither of them has been anywhere near good enough this season. 

Robinson’s play-calling is making people miss the good old days of Josh Grizzard, who was fired after one disappointing season as OC. 

Robinson has been much worse, and likely has his future fate tied to Bowles’ job security. 

As for Bowles, he continues to fail at getting his players to play up to their talent level. Former Bucs star DT Gerald McCoy went on a scathing rant about the team’s coaching earlier this week. 

With each passing week (and loss), it becomes more likely that Bowles will not make it to the end of the season as head coach. 

3. Graham Barton: Tampa’s center had a poor game, regularly getting beat, and beat quickly, on his pass-blocking snaps. 

There was also a horrible botched snap that nearly resulted in a safety. Barton continues to struggle. His job against the Packers was to make life easier for Daniels. Instead, his play was another obstacle Daniels had to overcome. 

4. Antoine Winfield Jr.: The Bucs’ star safety was actually having a strong game until an injury to his midsection forced him to exit in the fourth quarter and not return. 

Winfield was reported to have been “in considerable pain” and “could barely walk” after the game with what Bowles labeled an oblique injury. 

With the Bucs next game only four days away on Thursday Night Football, Winfield must recover quickly to have a shot at playing. 

5. Riley Dixon: Another poor showing from Dixon means he keeps his title of worst punter in the league for another week. He only averaged a measly 40 yards on his four punts Sunday, with zero pinning the Packers inside their own 20. 

Like Bowles, Dixon is at risk of not making it through the season before being replaced.