Winning ugly is better than not winning at all.

The first-place Tampa Bay Bucs sail on….again, somehow.

In another sloppy contest that wasn’t really as dominant as the final score indicates, the Bucs reclaimed the NFC South pole position with a 28-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Time basically operated as a flat circle with Tampa starting out hot in the first quarter, looking absolutely putrid in stanzas 2 and 3, and then sealing it away in the fourth.

The defense still looked rough, Baker Mayfield continues to fight through his worst stretch of play so far this year, and more injuries piled up as the team refuses to stay healthy for even a week.

Through it all though, first place with 4 games left is still something, so let’s do shoutouts for those who made it possible.

Offensive Top Performer: RB Rachaad White

Bucky Irving attempted to fight through back and hip ailments entering Sunday’s contest but had them flair up on him early, forcing him out and putting White back into the spotlight.

White delivered with the re-amplified workload, recording his first-ever game with a rushing and receiving touchdown and totaling 109 yards (90 rushing, 19 receiving) on 19 total touches. His success helped take the load off a struggling Baker Mayfield, who turned the ball over 3 times. We even got another angry run stiff arm from No. 1.

While one rookie exited, another finally emerged for the first time this season. Third-rounder Jalen McMillan has struggled with injuries and adjustment issues, but he stepped up against the Silver and Black with four catches, 59 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Getting McMillan humming would do wonders for taking the heat off Mike Evans, who recorded a game-altering 32-yard grab in the 4th quarter en route to 4 catches for 69 yards.

Defensive Top Performer: DB Tykee Smith

After being out basically a month with a knee issue, the rookie nickel back played a huge role in the result.

With the Raiders taking the second-half kick and grinding more than 10 minutes off the clock and reaching the Bucs’ 10-yard line, Smith halted the 16-play drive with a gritty interception on a target for fellow rookie sensation (and former Georgia teammate) Brock Bowers, who got held to just 3 catches for 49 yards — one of those coming in garbage time. Smith recording that pick and two other passes defensed helped stabilize a struggling secondary.

Lavonte David played another strong game with the position opposite him down to the 4th string option in Vi Jones. The veteran totaled 7 tackles, a sack, and a fumble recovery. The sack gave him 5 on the year, which is his highest total since 2016, and the recovery was the 19th of his career. That latter figure leads all active defensive players by a large margin (Calais Campbell is next with just 13) and it’s the most since he entered the league in 2012.

David might not be an elite force anymore at nearly 35 years old, but he’s still more than getting the job done.

Special Teams Top Performer: K Chase McLaughlin

Four extra points, four makes for McLaughlin after coming in hugely clutch last week.

I wish it was more interesting but every week, every other element of this special teams unit is mediocre at best and a disaster at worst. Rookie punter Jack Browning was not good in his first NFL start, averaging just 42.7 yards per kick with a long only 49 and having two kicks returned for 16 and 14 yards, respectively.

I’ll just say the team better be ready to pony up for an actual punter come free agency so this can stop being an issue that affects games as much as it does.