The Tampa Bay Buccaneers highlighted Yaya Diaby, Zyon McCollum, Tykee Smith and Bucky Irving for their Week Seven performances against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Diaby recorded the first three-sack game of his career, while Irving produced his first game with multiple rushing touchdowns. McCollum and Smith added interceptions before combining on a historic special-teams play.
Diaby finished with three sacks against Carolina, raising his career total to 22.0. He became the first Tampa Bay player with a three-sack performance since Devin White recorded three at Atlanta in 2020. On Diaby’s first two sacks, he pushed Rasheed Walker into Bryce Young, while Calijah Kancey helped create the pressure on the third play.
McCollum recorded his first interception of the season and the fourth of his career. Three of McCollum’s four career interceptions have come in divisional games. Smith also recorded his first interception of the season and the fourth of his career.
Safeties Coach Tim Atkins praised Smith’s understanding of the defense and his communication. “He has a great understanding of the defense and how it works all around,” Atkins said. “He knows what is supposed to be happening and knows the responsibilities of the inside linebackers. He knows if they are supposed to be dropping and he knows where they are supposed to be at and what the calls are. He is more vocal this year and his communication is off the charts. He is more comfortable this year. On Sunday, I thought he played the fastest that he has played as a safety since he got here. He is going after the person with the ball, hunting them down, hustling to the ball.”
Smith also blocked a Carolina extra-point attempt, which McCollum returned for a defensive two-point conversion. The block was Tampa Bay’s first since Will Gholston blocked an extra point at Carolina in 2017. According to StatsPerform research cited in the source, it was the first time in Buccaneers franchise history that the team returned a blocked extra point for a score.
Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith said Tampa Bay designed the rush to free Tykee Smith through the gap between the tight end and the wing. “We have taught him to jump through like a hurdler for the block,” Danny Smith said. “The tip we had no control over, but it worked out pretty good. Zyon was able to get it because he hit the back end of the ball, so it was an easy catch. Really, it was the three guys on the end of the line of scrimmage and we tried to set Tykee free and it worked.”
Irving carried 24 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns against Carolina. The performance marked his first career game with multiple rushing touchdowns and his fifth career 100-yard rushing performance. Irving also led Tampa Bay’s 258-yard rushing effort.
Irving surpassed 3,000 career scrimmage yards, becoming the 22nd player and 12th running back to reach that mark for Tampa Bay. Since entering the NFL in 2024, he has recorded 527 rushing yards and 33 rushing first downs against Carolina, both of which are his highest totals against any NFL opponent. His Week Seven performance added another milestone to a game in which Tampa Bay received production from its pass rush, secondary, special teams and running game.
FSB Take
Tampa Bay’s recognition reflects contributions across all three phases of the game. Diaby supplied the pass-rush production, McCollum and Smith created takeaways, and their special-teams sequence produced the first blocked-extra-point return for a score in franchise history. Irving’s two touchdowns and 106 rushing yards gave the Buccaneers a complementary rushing performance alongside those defensive plays.
Source: Original report