2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

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2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season
OwnerThe Glazer family
General managerJason Licht
Head coachLovie Smith
Home fieldRaymond James Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place4th NFC South
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersRB Doug Martin
DT Gerald McCoy
LB Lavonte David
OG Logan Mankins
QB Jameis Winston

The 2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 40th season in the

2015 NFL Draft. The team wore a patch to commemorate the club's 40th season.[3]

After their Week 8 overtime win at Atlanta, the Buccaneers had already improved on their record from 2014 (2–14). Entering the month of December, Tampa Bay had just swept division rival Atlanta, avenging an ugly 56–14 defeat on TNF a year earlier. The team found themselves mathematically in the hunt for a playoff berth with a 6–6 record. Despite showing improvement, the Buccaneers lost their final four games of the season. They finished 6–10 and last in the NFC South for the fifth straight year.

Despite missing the playoffs,

Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year
. On the defense side, the Buccaneers made improvements, ranking in the top ten in total yards and points allowed.

On January 6, 2016, head coach Lovie Smith was fired after two seasons as head coach.[4]

2015 draft class

Main article: 2015 NFL draft
2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Draft
Round Selection Player Position College
1
1
 Jameis Winston QB Florida State
2 34 Donovan Smith
OT
Penn State
61 Ali Marpet
G
 Hobart
4 124 Kwon Alexander LB LSU
5 162 Kenny Bell WR Nebraska
6 184 Kaelin Clay WR Utah
7 231 Joey Iosefa
FB
 Hawaii

Notes

Staff

2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Final roster

2015 Tampa Bay Buccaneers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 53 active, 12 inactive, 9 practice squad

Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 15 at Minnesota Vikings L 16–26 0–1
TCF Bank Stadium
 Recap
2 August 24 Cincinnati Bengals W 25–11 1–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap
3 August 29 Cleveland Browns L 7–31 1–2 Raymond James Stadium Recap
4 September 3 at Miami Dolphins W 22–17 2–2
Sun Life Stadium
 Recap

Regular season

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 13 Tennessee Titans L 14–42 0–1 Raymond James Stadium Recap
2 September 20 at New Orleans Saints W 26–19 1–1
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
 Recap
3 September 27 at Houston Texans L 9–19 1–2 NRG Stadium Recap
4 October 4 Carolina Panthers L 23–37 1–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap
5 October 11 Jacksonville Jaguars W 38–31 2–3 Raymond James Stadium Recap
6 Bye
7 October 25 at Washington Redskins L 30–31 2–4
FedExField
 Recap
8 November 1 at Atlanta Falcons W 23–20 (OT) 3–4 Georgia Dome Recap
9 November 8 New York Giants L 18–32 3–5 Raymond James Stadium Recap
10 November 15 Dallas Cowboys W 10–6 4–5 Raymond James Stadium Recap
11 November 22 at Philadelphia Eagles W 45–17 5–5 Lincoln Financial Field Recap
12 November 29 at Indianapolis Colts L 12–25 5–6 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
13 December 6 Atlanta Falcons W 23–19 6–6 Raymond James Stadium Recap
14 December 13 New Orleans Saints L 17–24 6–7 Raymond James Stadium Recap
15 December 17 at St. Louis Rams L 23–31 6–8
Edward Jones Dome
 Recap
16 December 27 Chicago Bears L 21–26 6–9 Raymond James Stadium Recap
17 January 3 at Carolina Panthers L 10–38 6–10 Bank of America Stadium Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Tennessee Titans

Game information

Opening day was a matchup between the No. 1 overall and the No. 2 overall selections in the 2015 NFL draft. Jameis Winston started at quarterback for Tampa Bay, and Marcus Mariota started at quarterback for Tennessee. Mariota snagged the headlines for the day, passing for 209 yards and four touchdowns as the Titans routed the Buccaneers 42–14. Winston's Buccaneer debut was mostly forgetful, as his first pass attempt in the NFL was a "pick 6" interception.

Week 2: at New Orleans Saints

Week Two: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 3 7 13326
Saints 0 7 01219

at

New Orleans, Louisiana

  • Date: September 20
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m.
    Jennifer Hale
  • Preview, Gamebook
Game information

Tampa Bay rebounded after their week 1 loss, and defeated the New Orleans Saints for the first time since October 2011. Jameis Winston threw a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown, as Tampa Bay jumped out to a 23–7 lead. The Saints rallied, and had two chances for a game-tying touchdown in the final 8 seconds. Drew Brees final throw was knocked down at the endline, and the Buccaneers snapped a 7-game losing streak dating back to the 2014 season.

Week 3: at Houston Texans

Week Three: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Houston Texans – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 9 009
Texans 7 0 3919

at

Houston, Texas

Game information

Buccaneers kicker Kyle Brindza missed three field goals and missed an extra point, as Tampa Bay fell at Houston by the score of 19–9. Jameis Winston threw for 261 yards, one touchdown pass, and one interception in the loss. Brindza did make a 58-yard field goal in the second quarter, which was the second-longest field goal in franchise history. Midway through the third quarter Vincent Jackson appeared to catch a 23-yard touchdown pass from Winston, but it was overturned after review, when it was determined that he did not get both feet down.

Week 4: vs. Carolina Panthers

Week Four: Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Panthers 10 7 14637
Buccaneers 3 7 7623

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: October 4
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 74 °F (23.3 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 57,468
  • Referee: Gene Steratore
  • TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Ronde Barber and Jennifer Hale
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Cam Newton threw for 124 yards and two touchdown passes, as Carolina beat Tampa Bay by the score of 37–23. Jameis Winston threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, but threw four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), and lost a fumbled snap in the defeat. After his struggles the previous week, Buccaneers kicker Kyle Brindza missed two field goals and an extra point, and was cut by the club on Monday morning.

Week 5: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week Five: Jacksonville Jaguars at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 14 10731
Buccaneers 3 17 11738

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Tampa Bay snapped an 11-game home losing streak that dated back to December 2013, defeating Jacksonville by the score of 38–31. Doug Martin rushed for 123 yards, two touchdowns, and had one receiving touchdown. Connor Barth returned to the club as kicker, going 3-for-3 on field goals, and 3-for-3 on extra points.

Week 7: at Washington Redskins

Week Seven: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 10 14 0630
Redskins 0 7 141031

at

FedExField, Landover, Maryland

Game information

Tampa Bay blew a 24–0 lead to the Redskins . Kirk Cousins threw a game-winning 6-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Reed with 24 seconds left in regulation.

Week 8: at Atlanta Falcons

Week Eight: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Buccaneers 3 10 70323
Falcons 3 0 710020

at

Atlanta, Georgia

Game information

Atlanta turned the ball over four times, twice inside the red zone. Tampa Bay jumped out to a 17-point lead, with 20 points scored off of turnovers. However, Matt Ryan threw a game-tying touchdown pass to Julio Jones with 17 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. The Buccaneers won the coin toss in overtime, and scored a field goal on their first possession. The Tampa Bay defense held Atlanta to a turnover on downs, securing a 23–20 victory.

Week 9: vs. New York Giants

Week Nine: New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 10 7 31232
Buccaneers 6 3 3618

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: November 8
  • Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 80 °F (26.7 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 64,351
  • Referee: Clete Blakeman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

hook and lateral play as time expired, but Trevin Wade
of the Giants recovered the loose ball and ran it in for a touchdown the other way.

Week 10: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Game information

Dallas and Tampa Bay were limited to field goals for the first 59 minutes of the game. Trailing 6–3 with just over one minute left, Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston scrambled for a 4-yard run to the endzone, but lost the ball as he was up-ended just short of the goal line. Dallas recovered the fumble, but was penalized for defensive holding by Jeff Heath. On the next play, Winston ran a naked bootleg for a 1-yard touchdown and a 10–6 Tampa Bay lead with 59 seconds remaining in regulation. With 28 seconds left, Matt Cassel's pass intended for Dez Bryant was intercepted by Bradley McDougald in the endzone to secure the victory. Bryant lobbied for pass interference due to contact by McDougald, but it was not called. It was Tampa Bay's first victory against Dallas since 2003, and the Cowboys' 7th straight loss (all without Tony Romo).

Week 11: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week Eleven: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 7 21 71045
Eagles 7 7 0317

at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Game information

Doug Martin rushed for 235 yards, and Jameis Winston threw five touchdown passes (tying an NFL rookie record), as Tampa Bay routed the Eagles by a score of 45–17. The combined 283 rushing yards was a franchise record for the Buccaneers, and the 521 total offensive yards was the second-highest regular season total in team history.

Week 12: at Indianapolis Colts

Week Twelve: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Indianapolis Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 3 9 0012
Colts 3 3 13625

at

Indianapolis, Indiana

Game information

Matt Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns passes to T. Y. Hilton as the Colts defeated Tampa Bay 25–12.

Week 13: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week Thirteen: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 9 3719
Buccaneers 7 0 9723

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: December 6
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 79 °F (26.1 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 58,221
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, David Diehl and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Tampa Bay swept Atlanta for the first time since 2007. Jameis Winston threw for 227 yards, one touchdown pass, and one rushing touchdown. Winston connected on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 1:39 remaining for the game-winning score. One play later, Lavonte David sealed the win with an interception of Matt Ryan on the first play of the Falcons' final drive.

Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week Fourteen: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Saints 7 10 7024
Buccaneers 0 10 0717

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: December 13
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 81 °F (27.2 °C), cloudy
  • Game attendance: 62,138
  • Referee: Clete Blakeman
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, David Diehl and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Drew Brees threw for 312 yards and two touchdown passes, as New Orleans defeated Tampa Bay 24–17. The Saints jumped out to a 14–0 lead in the second quarter, and led 17–10 at halftime. Tampa Bay made the score 24–17 after Jameis Winston threw a touchdown pass to Adam Humphries with just under 9 minutes left in regulation. Trailing by 7, the Buccaneers got the ball back with 5:22 to go, but went 3-and-out. The Saints were then able to run out the clock to secure the win.

Week 15: at St. Louis Rams

Week Fifteen: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at St. Louis Rams – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 3 0 31723
Rams 14 7 7331

at

St. Louis, Missouri

Game information

Los Angeles
for the 2016 season.

Week 16: vs. Chicago Bears

Week Sixteen: Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 13 01326
Buccaneers 7 0 7721

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Jameis Winston's hail-mary pass touchdown to Austin-Seferian Jenkins is not enough as Tampa Bay fell to Chicago 26–21 in the Buccaneers’ final home game of the season, and Lovie Smith went 0–2 against his former Bears team that fired him at the end of the 2012 season.

Week 17: at Carolina Panthers

Week Seventeen: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 3 0 7010
Panthers 0 24 7738

at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

  • Date: January 3, 2016
  • Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C), partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 74,169
  • Referee: Jerome Boger
  • TV announcers (Fox): Dick Stockton, David Diehl and Kristina Pink
  • Recap, Gamebook
Game information

Carolina swept the season series and finished with a record of 15–1. Tampa Bay finished the season losing their final four games and slipped to 6–10. After an incomplete pass by Jameis Winston, Mike Evans exchanged heated words with the officials resulting in Evans receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct fouls and an ejection from the game.

Standings

Division

NFC South
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Carolina Panthers 15 1 0 .938 5–1 11–1 500 308 W1
Atlanta Falcons 8 8 0 .500 1–5 5–7 339 345 L1
New Orleans Saints 7 9 0 .438 3–3 5–7 408 476 W2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6 10 0 .375 3–3 5–7 342 417 L4

Conference

NFC
# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division Leaders
1 Carolina Panthers South 15 1 0 .938 5–1 11–1 .441 .438 W1
2 Arizona Cardinals West 13 3 0 .813 4–2 10–2 .477 .457 L1
3 Minnesota Vikings North 11 5 0 .688 5–1 8–4 .504 .449 W3
4 Washington Redskins East 9 7 0 .563 4–2 8–4 .465 .403 W4
Wild Cards
5[a] Green Bay Packers North 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .531 .450 L2
6[a] Seattle Seahawks West 10 6 0 .625 3–3 7–5 .520 .431 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 Atlanta Falcons South 8 8 0 .500 1–5 5–7 .480 .453 L1
8[b] St. Louis Rams West 7 9 0 .438 4–2 6–6 .527 .482 L1
9[b] Detroit Lions North 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 .535 .429 W3
10[b] Philadelphia Eagles East 7 9 0 .438 3–3 4–8 .508 .473 W1
11[b] New Orleans Saints South 7 9 0 .438 3–3 5–7 .504 .402 W2
12[c] New York Giants East 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 .500 .396 L3
13[c] Chicago Bears North 6 10 0 .375 1–5 3–9 .547 .469 L1
14[c] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 6 10 0 .375 3–3 5–7 .484 .406 L4
15 San Francisco 49ers West 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 .539 .463 W1
16 Dallas Cowboys East 4 12 0 .250 3–3 3–9 .531 .438 L4
Tiebreakers[d]
  1. ^ a b Green Bay finished ahead of Seattle based on head-to-head victory.
  2. ^ a b c d St. Louis and Detroit finished ahead of Philadelphia and New Orleans based on conference record. St. Louis finished ahead of Detroit based on head-to-head victory.
    Detroit finished ahead of Philadelphia and New Orleans based on head-to-head sweep, while Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
  3. ^ a b c The New York Giants and Chicago each finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on head-to-head victory, while the Giants finished ahead of Chicago based on conference record.
  4. ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Tampa Bay Buccaneers Team Capsule" (PDF). 2015 Official National Football League Record and Fact Book. National Football League. July 21, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. ^ "2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Logo Slick". NFL Properties LLC. March 5, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  3. ^ "Bucs will wear 40th anniversary patch". bucsnation.com. May 14, 2015. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  4. ^ Win-now desire propels Bucs to fire Lovie Smith

External links