Daniels Struggles as Buccaneers Fall to Jaguars

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In the second half of the first two preseason games undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels had been masterful. Coming off the bench, Daniels led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) to two straight come-from-behind wins and firmly entered his name into the competition to backup starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.

In the Buccaneers’ final preseason game of the year against the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-1), Daniels got the start, but unlike the previous two games, the offense struggled in a 19-0 loss. After leading Tampa Bay to five touchdowns and two field goals against the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, failed to lead his team to any points despite playing deep into the third quarter.

Daniels’ counterpart Jake Browning didn’t fare any better as the Buccaneers failed to score for the first time in the preseason and suffered their first loss before opening the regular season against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 13.

Neither team could find a rhythm on offense through most of the first half. The Buccaneers’ first three drives ended in punts, while the Jaguars’ first two drives also ended in punts. The Jaguars got on to the scoreboard first with 10:21 left in the second quarter on a 61-yard field goal by Cam Little.

After the two teams traded punts again, Daniels fumbled the snap on the Buccaneers’ ensuing drive with the Jaguars’ Wesley Williams recovering the ball at the Tampa Bay 15-yard-line with 5:14 left in the first half. Fortunately for the Buccaneers, the defense forced a turnover on downs to keep the Jaguars’ lead to just a field goal, 3-0, at the end of the first half.

Daniels started the third quarter but was unable to put the offense in a position to threaten to score on his only drive of the third quarter, resulting in a punt. The Jaguars would go on to extend the lead to 11-0 lead with 3:45 left in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Carter Bradley to running back DeeJay Dallas. Bradley would add the two-point conversion.

After the score Browning took over the offense, but also struggled with three of his drives ending in punts. After Browning took a sack on third-and-17 on his final drive of the game, the Jaguars blew the game open as wide receiver Michael Wortham returned the ensuing punt from Riley Dixon 63 yards for a touchdown with 5:48 left in the game. The Jaguars would tack on another two-point conversion for their final score of the night.

Daniels finished the game 8-of-15 passing for 57 yards, rushed four times for 9 yards and was sacked three times. Browning ended his night 2-of-4 passing for 2 yards. The Buccaneers managed just 87 total yards (31 passing, 56 rushing) and allowed 249 total yards (163 passing, 86 rushing) to the Jaguars.

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