TAMPA — The Buccaneers came out of their bye week ranked fifth in the 32-team NFL in total defense, allowing a paltry 322.8 yards per game.
But are the Bucs actually playing as well as their lofty ranking suggests?
Bucs coach Lovie Smith said teams are, in fact, defined by their stats and record, but admits Tampa Bay has yet to play at a level defensively that suggests they’re among the league’s elite.
“If you look at total yards and some of those things – how everybody else kind of judges the league – you can feel good about some of the things that we’ve done, and we do,’’ Smith said.