Both rosters were thinner than the box score suggests. Tampa Bay's top two receivers, Emeka Egbuka and Jalen McMillan, were both banged up enough that neither was a lock to suit up, and McMillan didn't even travel for the joint practice earlier in the week. Jacksonville had its own list of question marks up front, with guards Wyatt Milum and Patrick Mekari both nursing issues heading into the finale — the kind of O-line uncertainty that tends to matter more in August than the name at quarterback.
None of that stopped Jacksonville's defense from playing clean, physical football. Whatever script both staffs had for this game, the Jaguars executed theirs, and Tampa Bay's offense — without its top pass-catchers and running a rookie at quarterback — never got out of its own way.
Tampa Bay came in having won 3 straight, riding a preseason that included answers at backup quarterback and a two-score comeback win over Kansas City the week before. None of that carried over to Jacksonville. The Buccaneers were shut out, 19-0, their first scoreless outing of the summer and a rough final impression to leave with roster cutdowns looming.
For Jacksonville, this was a bounce-back of sorts after a lopsided loss to Carolina the week before. Cam Little stayed perfect on field goals in camp, and the defense — playing without its top corners of attention on Brian Thomas Jr. and the other name-brand starters — did the heavy lifting. The Jaguars head toward final cuts having found something on the defensive side even with Lawrence never stepping on the field.