The preseason began with quarterbacks Golsteyn and Thompson relatively even, Golsteyn having a slight advantage due to his year of experience in the Tampa Bay offense. McKay described Kelly Thomas as "as good as any offensive lineman we've ever had in here", and compared his progress to that of Sean Farrell the previous year. The run defense, among the NFC's worst the previous season, continued to be a concern. Mental errors also continued to be a problem, with mistakes such as numerous penalties and running plays with only 10 men on the field. The quarterbacks continued to run neck-and-neck through the first two preseason games, with Golsteyn directing two fourth-quarter comebacks for wins. The later part of the preseason saw the offensive line solidifying, showing a previously unseen drive to move the ball into the end zone, rather than a contentment to let drives stall at around the 20-yard line. However, injuries became an issue, especially at linebacker, where the team was left with only three healthy veterans. A large number of offensive line injuries prompted McKay to keep an extra lineman on the roster. This meant cutting Dave Browning, for whom the team had just traded Charley Hannah. McKay remarked that Browning lacked the speed he'd shown in the past, and kept the much quicker Hasson Arbubakrr. Similarly, the team kept speedy rookie receiver Gene Branton, while cutting inconsistent longtime starter Gordon Jones. Final cuts included offseason acquisitions Larry Key, Reese McCall, and Rick Moser. The Buccaneers finished their first undefeated preseason with a 41–21 victory over the New England Patriots in which they scored the most points ever while setting records for yardage in a preseason game (492) and most points scored in a half (31). In preseason matchups, the Buccaneers were the NFL's highest-scoring team.