The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fell to 1-1 in the 2024 preseason on Saturday night with a 20-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Everbank Stadium. Fourth-year QB Kyle Trask threw a six-yard touchdown pass to WR Cody Thompson in the second quarter that tied the game at 7-7, but the Buccaneers' offense struggled to move the ball throughout the evening and finished with just 207 total yards. Tampa Bay's line surrendered three sacks and five quarterback hits and untimely penalties erased several big plays.

"We had some penalties," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "Really, protecting the quarterback. If you can't keep the quarterback upright it's hard to move the ball."

The Buccaneers had a shot to take the lead in the fourth quarter after a pass-interference penalty gave them a first down at the Jacksonville 28 but a third-down pass to rookie WR Latreal Jones fell incomplete in the end zone and K Chase McLaughlin missed a 42-yard field goal attempt. Jacksonville took the ensuing possession 68 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory, with QB Mac Jones hitting TE Shane Bowman on a 31-yard touchdown pass.

Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Trevoer Lawrence took the night off and both teams played almost exclusively with reserves. The only listed starters to take part in the contest for Tampa Bay were guards Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson, third receiver Trey Palmer and LB K.J. Britt. Tampa Bay's defense allowed 339 total yards of offense and had trouble getting off the field in key situations. Jacksonville converted nine of 17 third-down attempts and two of two fourth-down tries, leading to a huge 38:15-21:45 time-of-possession advantage. Tampa Bay's offense only converted on two of 11 third-down attempts.

"It was bad on both sides of the ball – 18% on our part, defense we bust two coverages, one of third-and-17, one on third-and-16 to give up two first downs, one first down and one touchdown," said Bowles. "The young guys have got to communicate and have got to play better."

The game was encapsulated by a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter after both offenses had trouble getting anything going in the opening period. Jacksonville, led by former Patriots first-round pick Mac Jones, embarked on a 17-play, 10-minute drive for the opening score, ending in Jones' 25-yard touchdown pass to Parker Washington on third-and-17. Starting quarterback Kyle Trask and the Bucs' offense answered immediately with a 68-yard touchdown drive that took just 4:43 off the clock and was keyed by a 21-yard Sean Tucker run.

Tampa Bay's defense put together a much more effective pass rush after getting just one QB hit and no sacks in a Week One preseason win in Cincinnati. Against the Jaguars, the Bucs compiled five sacks, six tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits, led by a three-sack outing for first-year OLB Jose Ramirez.

"That's the one good thing that showed up on defense," said Bowles. "Obviously, there were a lot of missed tackles in the run game. I'm not pleased with that, not pleased with third down, but we got five sacks. It doesn't matter in a loss but the young guys made some progress."

The Buccaneers and Jaguars met after sharing the practice field for two days, with both teams getting their starters scripted action against each other and thus decreasing the need for those front-line players to participate in the game. The Bucs have one more preseason contest, at home next Friday against the Miami Dolphins, and it's likely their starters will finally get a chance to warm up for the regular season in that outing.

The Bucs' rushing game, a major point of emphasis after two years of struggles in that category, was impressive for the second week in a row. The lack of playing time for the offense as a whole kept the overall numbers depressed – 76 yards on 16 carries – but the team averaged 4.8 yards per tote and rookie RB Bucky Irving's first five runs all gained between four and six yards. Tucker gained 32 yards on four totes.

"He looked like he did early last year in preseason," said Bowles of Tucker, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2023 and subsequently made the active roster. "He's healthy, he understands where he's got to go. He knows his cuts, he knows his fits, he's confident right now. He's playing good football."

Trask finished the game with 12 completions on 19 attempts for 108 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 95.9 passer rating. He had to re-enter the game in the fourth quarter after John Wolford suffered a ribs injury while being sacked. Wolford was seven of 14 for 52 yards and was frequently chased out of the pocket behind a line of deep reserves.

The Bucs got the ball first and got things going on the ground right away, with Irving ripping off cutback runs of six and five yards. Trask's first throw was a sideline toss to McMillan, who couldn't quite keep his toes inbounds as he reached for it. Irving ran for five more more on second down but Trask's third-down throw was behind McMillan and incomplete. After a 44-yard punt by Jake Camarda, the Jaguars got their first drive going at their own 10.

Jacksonville got a quick first down on a seven-yard Jones pass to Parker Washington and a rugged four-yard run wide right by RB Tank Bigsby. Moments later, CB Bryce Hall intercepted a short pass intended for WR Elijah Cooks but he was flagged for pass interference, making it first-and-10 at the Jaguars' 39. The Jaguars faced a third-and-five three plays later and Washington ran a shallow crossing route, catching Jones' pass just past the sticks. The next third down needed seven yards from the Bucs' 47 and tight coverage by by Hall on an out attempt to WR Tim Jones helped force an incompletion and a punt.

The Bucs' second drive started at their own seven, and rookies Irving (six-yard run) and McMillan (six-yard catch in the right flat) moved the chains. Another four-yard Irving run over left tackle set up a play-action rollout pass by Trask to WR Trey Palmer going to the right for 10 yards to the 33. The Bucs faced a third-and-six moments later and Trask tried to scramble up the middle for the first down but was stopped two yards short. Camarda's punt went into the end zone for a touchback.

A sack by Ramirez put Jacksonville into a quick third-and-15 hole on the ensuing drive but Jones had time to find WR Devin Duvernay right at the line to gain to keep the drive alive. The Jaguars faced a second-and-two at their 38 as the first quarter came to an end, and Bigsby earned a new set of downs by plowing right up the middle for five. Bigsby then split out wide left and caught a dart from Jones for nine more, and D'Ernest Johnson zipped over left guard for a first down at the Bucs' 44. A holding call two plays helped created a third-and-nine but Jones scrambled right and threw on the run to rookie WR Brian Thomas for a first down at the Bucs' 29. Two Bigsby runs made it third-and-one, but the Bucs' got a stop to make it fourth down. The Jaguars went for it and Jones snuck it up the gut for a first down at the 18. A second sack for Ramirez, who touched Jones down after the quarterback tripped, pushed the ball back to the 25 and made it third-and-17. Jones got that back and more as Washington ran a vertical route straight up the middle and easily hauled in a touchdown pass.

Tucker got the following kickoff out to the 31 and a first-down end-around to WR Cody Thompson picked up a quick 13 yards around the right edge. Tucker then took a handoff right then reversed field to tack on 21 to the Jaguars' 35. A quick seam route to WR Tanner Knue was good for 11 more to the 24. Three plays later, a play-action pass to rookie TE Devin Culp got him out into the open on the left for a gain of 11 to the seven. The next two plays only gained a yard, but on third-and-goal Trask escaped a collapsing pocket, sprinted right and threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Thompson to knot the game up.

A holding call on Jacksonville's kickoff return moved them back to their 18 to start the next drive, and Jones scrambled for six yards after ducking under a near sack by LB Vi Jones. That brought on the two-minute warning, and after the break Johnson took a run right and cut upfield for a first down at the 30. Jones was flushed out of the pocket on the next two plays and scrambled twice for three total yards, the second one stopping the clock with 1:06 left. On third-and-seven, Jones got the ball to Cooks on a deep crossing route but the receiver couldn't hold on and the Jaguars punted down to the Buds' eight.

Jacksonville used a timeout with 45 seconds left in the half after an incompletion and a three-yard run by Tucker. Trask was pressured into a desperate incompletion on third down and the Bucs punted it back to the Jaguars' 43. A pressure by DL Lwal Uguak forced a throw-away but Jones found WR Austin Trammell on the next snap to get the ball down to the Bucs' 37. The Bucs' defense forced a third-and-10 but Jones found Trammell again for 29 yards down to the eight, stopping the clock at the nine-second mark. After one more play that ended up as a Jones' throwaway, the Jaguars sent out kicker Cam Little to boot a 26-yard field goal for a 10-7 halftime lead.

Rookie RB D.J. Williams made a nice open-field tackle on return man Gray Brightwell to start the second half, forcing the home team to start at its own 21. C.J. Beathard replaced Jones at quarterback and faced a third-and-one moments later, which he converted with an eight-yard scramble that had a five-yard defensive penalty tacked on the end. Two runs by RB Jalen Jackson made it third-and-four at the 49, anda Bucs blitz forced a Beathard scramble to make it fourth-and-two just across midfield. The Jaguars went for it and Trammell spun out of a tackle after a short catch and got all the way to the Bucs' 26. The drive stalled there, with DL Will Gholston getting a pressure on third-and-10, and Little booted a 44-yarder to increase the Jaguars' lead to six points.

Wolford came in at quarterback to start the second half but the Bucs' first drive was a three-and-out, with two short runs and Wolford's third-down incompletion as he scrambled right. The resulting punt was fair caught at Jacksonville's 23.

Brightwell's nine-yard run on third-and-two gave the Jaguars a first down at their 40, but they backed up five yards with an illegal shift penalty. A well-timed blitz by LB Antonio Grier helped put the Jaguars into a third-and-14, and Watts finished off the drive with an eight-yard sack.

The Bucs got the ball back at their own 20 and Tucker immediately powered up the middle for a gain of nine, pushing the pile for extra yardage. However, he was stopped in the backfield for a loss of two on the next snap and Wolford was once again pressured into a scrambling incompletion on third down.

Jacksonville got the ball back at its own 26 with two minutes left in the third quarter. Uguak blew up the Jaguars' first play by bursting right up the middle for a sack of nine yards. Two plays later, Ramirez once again tracked Beathard down for a sack all the way back at the Jacksonville four, bringing on the fourth quarter. The Jaguars committed a penalty on the ensuing punt attempt, forcing them to try again from the two, and the ball went out of bounds at the Jacksonville 48.

Wolford took a six-yard sack by DE Breeland Speaks on first down, and his second-down seam pass was tipped away by LB Tanner Muse. A third-and-long pass to Culp fell far short of the sticks and the Bucs punted it back to the Jaguars' 18.

Jones came back in to lead the Jaguars' offense because Beathard was ruled out with a groin injury, and Jacksonville got runs of 12 yards by Brightwell and 11 by Jackson. However, Andrew Hayes forced a fumble by WR Seth Williams after short catch and Wisdom picked up the loose ball and returned it to the Jaguars' 45.

The next play looked for a moment like a thrilling tackle-breaking run by Williams with a block from Wolford, but the play was erased by a holding penalty on rookie WR Latreal Jones. Wolford went up top on a sideline fly to Thompson on the next play and the result was a pass interference penalty that made it first-and-10 at the 28. Three plays later, on third-and-six, Wolford threw to Jones in the end zone but it was incomplete. Chase McLaughlin came on to try a 42-yard field goal but he pulled it to the left and the scored remained 13-7 with 9:29 left.

Jacksonville's second touchdown drive followed, and the Bucs' offense had a three-and-out ending in the sack that knocked Wolford out of the contest. After a three-and-out by Jacksonville, Trask and the Bucs got down to the Jacksonville one based on a 22-yard scramble and a 21-yard catch by Thompson. However, a first-and-goal run by Ramon Jefferson lost five yards and Trask was sacked back at the 20 to end the game.