TAMPA - Defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson delivered one of the brightest moments in a losing effort Sunday, intercepting a tipped pass to spark a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that held the Minnesota Vikings to 230 total yards - the fewest the unit has allowed in a game this season - in a 23-16 defeat that dropped the Bucs to 0-3.
Robinson’s interception was the second of his career and the first by a Buccaneers defensive lineman since William Gholston caught one in Week Eight of the 2023 season against the Buffalo Bills. The play developed when a collapsed pocket forced a batted ball that found Robinson at the line of scrimmage.
“I just knew that we needed to collapse the pocket so once we collapsed it, Vita batted it and it hit me in my head and I just had to find it,” Robinson said on the Players’ Table Show. “It landed in front of me and I went, ‘I want it. I need it. I love it.’ I had to go get it. I knew it was going to go to the ground, so I was going to get it, secure it and make sure. I wish it was a touchdown so we got the extra points … that is just me being me and being critical.”
The defensive performance was statistically dominant in several categories. Tampa Bay held Minnesota to nine first downs, its fewest in a game since Week Nine of the 2022 season against the Los Angeles Rams. The Bucs also limited Minnesota quarterback Kyler Murray to 15-of-29 passing - a 51.7% completion rate - for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception, producing a 66.5 passer rating that ranks as the third-lowest of his career in games with at least 10 attempts. Minnesota converted just two of 15 third-down opportunities, a 13% rate that is the lowest the Buccaneers have allowed in a game in which their opponent had at least 10 third-down chances since Week 16 of the 2020 season against Detroit, when the Lions went 1-of-10.
The Buccaneers signed Robinson in free agency in March to bolster their defensive line. He brings 143 career games and 106 starts across stints with the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. Over that span, Robinson has accumulated 500 total tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 37 quarterback hits, 23 passes defended, 15.0 sacks, six forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and one interception returned for a touchdown. His best season came with Carolina in 2024, when he set career highs with 43 tackles, eight quarterback hits and 5.5 sacks.
Despite the defensive effort, Robinson acknowledged the team must correct its mistakes to end the losing streak. “How can we hold ourselves accountable and what details, how can we pick ourselves up to be that much better because it came down to the details,” he said. “We did not have those details covered.”
Tampa Bay’s next opportunity to earn its first win of the 2026 season comes in Week Four.