Alex Anzalone Wins NFC Defensive Player Of The Week
November 4th, 2026
It’s not often that a guy hauls in back-to-back interceptions in the first quarter of an NFL game.
That’s what Bucs linebacker Alex Anazalone did on Sunday. Atlanta’s second and third drives ended in the mitts of Anzalone. That led to him being named NFC Defensive Player of the Week today.
No other NFL player had two picks through last week’s slate of games.
Per the Bucs, Analzone’s 36 passes defensed rank fourth among NFL linebackers since the start of the 2021 season, when Anzalone became a starter for Detroit. Over the past six seasons (2021-26), Anzalone is the lone NFL linebacker with 500-plus tackles, 35-plus passes defensed and 10 or more sacks.
Translation: this guy is no SirVocea Dennis.
For those who want to argue Anzalone’s horrid tackling in Weeks 1 and 2 cost the Bucs a loss, one could argue Anzalone won the game for the Bucs on Sunday. His plays on the ball seemed to change Atlanta’s offensive approach, and they led to an early score in a shutout win.
Regardless, Anzalone has been an impact pickup by Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht.
November 4th, 2026 at 12:42 pm
congrats to alex, slow start but has come on strong
November 4th, 2026 at 12:45 pm
After a couple of very subpar weeks, he has really come on. Since then he’s been pretty much exactly what we hoped he’d be. Hopefully he keeps it up.
November 4th, 2026 at 12:48 pm
Congratulations!
November 4th, 2026 at 12:51 pm
Congrats Alex! The REAL Anazalone showed up.
I hope Alex can share some tips on defeating Ben Johnson’s offense since Alex faced it in practice while at Detroit.
November 4th, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Quite the turnaround for Anzalone since the first 3 weeks of the season…
November 4th, 2026 at 1:00 pm
The defense seems very cohesive not alota busted coverages and they are tackling haven’t seen a defense like this in the bay for some time
November 4th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
No doubt that whatever issues he had with the scheme appear resolved. Kudos to him and the coaches. Well deserved POTW
November 4th, 2026 at 1:03 pm
I heard DPOW was between him and Calijah Kancey.
November 4th, 2026 at 1:08 pm
Happy for this guy I hope he can keep it up
November 4th, 2026 at 1:19 pm
“For those who want to argue Anzalone’s horrid tackling in Weeks 1 and 2 cost the Bucs a loss, one could argue Anzalone won the game for the Bucs on Sunday. His plays on the ball seemed to change Atlanta’s offensive approach, and they led to an early score in a shutout win.”
I’ll take him hitting his stride now, if it means we don’t see week 1-3/4 Anzalone ever again.
November 4th, 2026 at 1:19 pm
I’ll have a medium Anzalone with extra pepperoni and sausage.
November 4th, 2026 at 1:47 pm
You spelled his name wrong Joe analzone is just wrong lmao
November 4th, 2026 at 1:47 pm
SlyPirate … ‘I heard DPOW was between him and Calijah Kancey.’
OK I’ll bite: ‘Why Kancey? What did he do that’d deserve DPOW?’
Kancey had 4 tackles in the Falcons game (3 solo) in 33 def snaps (62%). For the whole year, all 8 games, he’s got a total of 9 tackles (7 solo), 0 sacks, 2 QB hits, 1 TFL & 1 FR (for a TD) in 308 def snaps (63%).
Calijah’s basically contributing 1 tackle per game … that’s it. Color me unimpressed I guess, but I expect more out of a 1st Rnd pick.
November 4th, 2026 at 1:51 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch … ‘I’ll take him hitting his stride now, if it means we don’t see week 1-3/4 Anzalone ever again.’
I’ve written this before WBL, but I think Alex’s problems in Bowles’ defense in the first 2 games especially had to do with his background of always being in 4-3 defenses and never in the 3-4. You can practice practice practice, but thee’s no substitute for having to do your job at full-speed in real games.
November 4th, 2026 at 1:57 pm
If the last couple of games are what we brought him to TAMPA BAY for I’ll take it. I was concerned after the slow start but he’s really picked up his game. Congratulations Alex , welcome to the PIRATE SHIP!!!! He is definitely a up grade!!
November 4th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
Penix did not like the anzalone
November 4th, 2026 at 2:13 pm
“I’ve written this before WBL, but I think Alex’s problems in Bowles’ defense in the first 2 games especially had to do with his background of always being in 4-3 defenses and never in the 3-4”
I’ve seen you make this point before, and I can’t remember if I replied to it or not but Anzalone spent his first seasons in Detroit in playing a 3-4. So while there my be some truth to what you’re saying, I think it’s just part of what into his dreadful play to start the season. In fact, I think it’s less about him finding out how to settle into the scheme, and more about him settling in with the other 10 games trying to stay on the same page.
Fwiw it’s worth, he was used as an attacking ILB in a 4-3 scheme with Dennis Allen then Aaron Glenn, biggest difference isn’t the scheme imo it’s how his job duties have been altered since arriving in Tampa.
Yes, he’s being asked to do more, but that’s also because of the fact of how we try to set offenses up whether it be muggin the A-gap just to cloak a coverage drop/blitz pre-snap.
Wether or not he’s better “fit” for a 4-3 over a 3-4 is debatable, BUT he’s never had more than 2 picks in 1 season(has 3 in 8 games with us) in Allen/Glenns’ 4-3 schemes and this DPOW award is the first of his 10 year career. Plenty to consider, and I’ve admitted I was hard on him at the start of the season because the struggles were plain as day. Now, it looks like he & alot of our other guys on D are playing better as a collective and not a group of 11 with 1-2 high/consistent performers.
Alex isn’t a spring chicken anymore, so just expecting read & react, sideline to sideline stuff from him might be a big ask which in all reality is partly why we drafted Josiah.
November 4th, 2026 at 2:20 pm
I remember it took simeon rice 6 games to adapt and flourish to the buccaneer defense. Well deserved honor.
November 4th, 2026 at 2:27 pm
Love that this defense is getting some Positive press. Success breeds more Success, who is up next?
November 4th, 2026 at 2:56 pm
Bout time we got value out of him.
Would actually be one of the catalysts for an epic turnaround should it go that way.
One thing about this awesome run game: Jefferey Simmons scares me.
Graham Barton better be 100% and DUOs/Doubles every snap.
November 4th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
Something I’ve learned is it’s not about how you start but how you finish. Finish strong Bucs. One game at a time
November 4th, 2026 at 3:16 pm
#1bucsfan Says:
November 4th, 2026 at 3:06 pm
You learned this? It sounds more like a cliché that athletes repeat.
November 4th, 2026 at 3:29 pm
As far as Simmons, hes gonna have his hands full come Sunday night…
November 4th, 2026 at 3:42 pm
This is vindication for Fabio as my girlfriend calls Anzelone. It took him a while to get in sync with his team.mates but he finally is playing at a high level like he did in Detroit.
November 4th, 2026 at 3:44 pm
Great job by Goldilocks locking in after a shaky start.
November 4th, 2026 at 4:28 pm
Way to go, Alex! Well deserved!
November 4th, 2026 at 4:28 pm
Warren Brooks Lynch … ‘Anzalone spent his first seasons in Detroit in playing a 3-4.’
I’m not sure if this is totally correct WBL, but Alex played in the 4-3 for 4 years in New Orleans from 2017-2020.
When he went to Detroit in 2021 (first year there), Pro-Football-Reference says that Aaron Glenn was his DC and they played a 3-4 with Dan Campbell as HC (and they went 3-13-1). The next year (2022) it says that they ran a 4-3 defense with Aaron Glenn again as DC (and Dan Campbell as HC) and went 9-8. Detroit still runs the 4-3 now.
So it looks like he had 1 year in the 3-4 in Detroit, and it wasn’t a spectacular year. Alex played in 14 games and got 78 tackles (49 solo). He did much better in 2022 & 2023, averaging 125-130 tackles each season. Got hurt in 2024 so his numbers were down, but they were back up in 2025.
November 4th, 2026 at 5:07 pm
Analzone is a hilarious typo Joe. I’m pretty sure you spelled his name three different ways in the article lolololol
November 4th, 2026 at 5:13 pm
Now this should spring him forward he’s learned thr defense
November 4th, 2026 at 5:14 pm
I’m good with Analzone! Go BUCS
November 4th, 2026 at 5:21 pm
GMC hater Says:
November 4th, 2026 at 2:06 pm
Penix did not like the anzalone
That is the funniest comment I have read on here.
November 4th, 2026 at 5:21 pm
I thought I saw him running around with his hair on fire, in Detroit. It took until week 8 for the whole team to pull their heads out of their arses. Ashawn said in the beginning that it was every man for himself. Maybe they ready to Gel now, some have a complex about Ashawn and Muhammad along the line. If we could put three in the middle and keep Walker in rotation, he’s the best edge we, Nelly should’ve walked and we should’ve have let that kid go and the Chiefs signed him. He would have had ten sacks by now with the Bucs. More stupid decisions on JL’s sign off. Stupid and ain’t noone done that. Might as well tank and get Baker some new receivers 1st and 2nd round on a high pick both rounds. And don’t you get more compensary picks for sucking 🙄
November 4th, 2026 at 5:31 pm
With both Trotter & AA we are getting better in the middle . Very poor & slow start by him but has really been coming on strong . Most of us were ready to give him the bench but now he’s putting the opponents offenses there !
November 4th, 2026 at 5:38 pm
Amazing. This guy looked absolutely lost the first few weeks.
November 4th, 2026 at 6:48 pm
What a great relief. The usual crowd of whiners now gives Anzalone a thumbs up.
More evidence that the usual crowd should stick to their day jobs selling used cars.
There is going to be a lot more humble pie eaten by the whiners before the season is over.
November 4th, 2026 at 7:09 pm
Maybe, just maybe, Todd knows a little about coaching a defense. Maybe given the talent and a little time playing together can field a dominant defense.
Goldilocks is making plays but Todd is putting him in positions to do so.
It’s been a little while since the turd hunters have whined about OLBs and linemen dropping into coverage…… What happened to y’all – u cool with that strategy now after posting 100s of times whining about it ?
November 4th, 2026 at 7:16 pm
Category Stat / Average NFL Rank
Total Defense 285.9 yds/game 3rd
Scoring Defense 18.9 pts/game 6th
Run Defense 80 yds/game. 2nd
Passing Defense 205.9 yds/game 9th
Interception Rate 1st in NFL 1st
EPA per Drive Top tier 1st
November 4th, 2026 at 7:19 pm
thor is now standing on business…
3 weeks in the sh!t tank…and now he’s laying the hammer down
November 4th, 2026 at 7:22 pm
if he was still playing like he was the first few weeks, the locker room would have had to ball up on him, shave his head and hang him on a wedgie hook 🙂
and now he goes into soldier field to line up against a very familiar foe…should be interesting
November 4th, 2026 at 7:29 pm
the thing is……
penix is a scrubb…i’ve been saying it for the longest…since pre-draft…i saw the freakin’ tea bro…!
yet no one else on the bucs board says it…like wtf…duke is a scrubb
November 4th, 2026 at 8:00 pm
Licht is never going to be in the ROH.
Pretty much ANY LB pickup would have been an upgrade over Dennis.
November 4th, 2026 at 8:30 pm
The guy routinely washes himself out of tackles on dry grass like he’s playing on ice. Plays in mud and is solid. Maybe he should wear longer cleats on a dry field.
November 4th, 2026 at 9:27 pm
This cannot be true.
The experts here said Anzalone was a horrible player.
November 4th, 2026 at 10:44 pm
Buccaneer Bonzai Says:
November 4th, 2026 at 9:27 pm
This cannot be true.
The experts here said Anzalone was a horrible player.
———
He was terrible, the Baker Mayfield of the defense through the first 3 weeks. But the last couple of weeks has played well. Both things can be true, and maybe it gives hope that Baker won’t be a completely worthless piece of trash for the rest of the year as well. You never know.
November 4th, 2026 at 10:46 pm
i had given up faith. although he was a gator, glad to be proven wrong. should have given him more of a chance. good player.
November 4th, 2026 at 11:58 pm
The Penix threw both balls right at the Analzone.