Titans vs. Bucs Game Ball

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, 20-6, in a game that included an efficient, mostly mistake-free offense and a defense that swarmed rookie quarterback Will Levis and completely contained hard-charging running back Derrick Henry. Many, many players made significant contributions to the 14-point win.

For instance, the Buccaneers had a season-high 13 hits on the quarterback on Sunday, and eight different players got in on that act. Devin White, Calijah Kancey, Shaquil Barrett and Yaya Diaby each had two of those QB hits. Antoine Winfield Jr. had one of them to go along with a team-high six tackles and the Bucs’ only interception of the day. Kancey, Diaby and Lavonte David all had multiple tackles for loss.

On offense, wide receiver Mike Evans was the headliner with 143 receiving yards and a touchdown, but it was running back Rachaad White who sparked the Bucs on a 20-3 run by taking a screen pass and dashing through the defense for a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Quarterback Baker Mayfield helped the Bucs shake a slow start by repeatedly and successfully pressing the ball downfield.

In other words, a lot of players could conceivably be in line for the Game Ball after this win, which makes the task at hand a little tougher for me and Staff Writer/Reporter Brianna Dix. After every Buccaneer victory this season, we are asked to nominate two players for the honor of receiving our (fictional) Game Ball. Those two are then included in a list of four candidates…and then the final decision is up to you. After you review the cases we make for two of those players, you will find a link at the bottom of the page to place your vote.

Since we can’t duplicate votes and getting the first pick could be important, we are going to alternate the order of our choices from week to week. It’s my turn to go first. So, who should get this week’s Game Ball? Here are our suggestions.