Lavonte David says Buccaneers knew exactly what Justin Fields was throwing before game-clinching pick-six

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a surprising 0-2 to start the 2023 season. And while Baker Mayfield deserves a ton of credit in his latest redemption story, it’s undoubtedly Tampa Bay’s defense leading the way for a resurgence in Florida. We saw it on Sunday as the Buccaneers rattled Justin Fields with consistent pressure. They even snagged an embarrassing game-clinching pick-six off the third-year quarterback in the final moments.

In the post-game, veteran linebacker Lavonte David said something eye-opening. He explained that the Buccaneers’ defense saw Chicago’s slip-screen play coming because offensive coordinator Luke Getsy used the “same formation” from a previous play and, really, for most of the game.

When Barrett successfully predicted the play, the rest was history. Professional football defenders are simply too good to give them a leg up schematically:

More locker room video from Sunday: Lavonte David says “everybody knew what was coming” from Bears on Shaq Barrett’s game-clinching pick-six: pic.twitter.com/F3tdDsjGy4

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 18, 2023

Sunday was a tale of two organizations. The Buccaneers still have plenty of talent over from their Super Bowl 55 championship team, especially on defense. And they look like an easy early-season success story because of it. The Bears, meanwhile, have a struggling young quarterback and a squad that somehow looks worse than the one that earned the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.

No wonder the Buccaneers took advantage of Chicago’s miscues.