The following is an excerpt from Warren Sharp's 2025 Football Preview book. In addition to Warren's deep, detailed write-up on all 32 NFL teams, each chapter features page after page of full-color charts, stats, and heatmaps as well as penalty analysis from Joe Gibbs. Click here for a full FREE chapter from the 2025 Football Preview.
Penalties are an under-discussed aspect of NFL success and failure. Average teams can become playoff contenders with good discipline, and good teams can become great simply by winning the penalty battle.
Let's look at how the Tampa Bay Bucs performed from a penalty perspective in 2024 and where they can improve in 2025.
How Did Penalties Impact the Tampa Bay Bucs?
The Good
- The Buccaneers offense was a top-five beneficiary of automatic first downs via penalty.
- The Buccaneers gained an average of 9.2 yards per beneficial penalty versus a league average of 8.1 yards in this category.
- The special teams unit was one of the least penalized units in the NFL.
The Bad
- The Buccaneers averaged 7.8 penalties per game in divisional matchups compared to 5.6 per game outside the NFC South.
- Excessive false starts were the one negative for the Buccaneers offense. Surprisingly, 70% of their infractions in this category were committed in home games.
- The Buccaneers defense was lackluster at generating offensive holding and false starts on opposing offenses, ranking 28th and 32nd in those categories.
- The defense was a top-five penalized unit for defensive holding and roughing the passer.
Grade: B+
Tampa Bay has the pieces to be one of the league's most explosive offensive units in 2025. They may need to be to alleviate pressure on their defense, which isn't the unit it once was.
As detailed in our statistical rundown, the offense was excellent at generating beneficial penalties. The NFL has continually shifted the rules to favor the offenses, and the Buccaneers have constructed a roster to take full advantage of that in 2025.
The trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and rookie first-round selection Emeka Egbuka is on a short list to be the NFL’s most dynamic wide receiver corps in 2025.
Tampa Bay will be one of the more exciting teams to watch and has a legitimate chance to secure their fifth consecutive NFC South title in a division race that will come down to the wire.
This analysis continues in the 2025 Football Preview
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Warren Sharp's book shares insights into the players, coaches, teams, and philosophies with one goal: to prepare you for the 2025 NFL season with the smartest information delivered in the fastest, most direct way possible for optimal reviewing and retention.
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