Safety John Lynch, right, who made his debut with the Patriots, helps out on a tackle of Buccaneers wide receiver Ike Hilliard during the first quarter of last night’s game in Tampa.

MCT / Brian Blanco

TAMPA — All eyes once again were on the Patriots’ secondary last night.

The Pats are still trying to prove that they can keep teams from moving the ball up and down the field through the air without Asante Samuel (Philadelphia), Randall Gay (New Orleans) and Eugene Wilson (Tampa Bay), who were signed away in the offseason.

They did that against Baltimore in their first preseason game, limiting the Ravens to 176 passing yards.

Last night against Tampa Bay’s first- and second-team offenses, which were led by backup quarterbacks Brian Griese and Luke McCown, the Patriots’ secondary showed it still is vulnerable.

But then again, they were playing without their leader in the secondary, Rodney Harrison, along with returning starter James Sanders.

In addition, defensive backs Jason Webster, Jonathan Wilhite and Lewis Sanders are also banged up, and starting safety Brandon Meriweather went down with an apparent leg injury early in the first quarter and did not return.

Griese had his way against that depleted secondary, and the Bucs’ play didn’t drop off when McCown took over early in the second quarter. Griese completed 9 of 10 passes for 44 yards.

“Brian Grise made some great decisions,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. “We are going to challenge him above the neck. He is a good football player and we are going to ask him to do a lot for us.”

McCown went 4-for-4 on his second drive of the second quarter. He marched the Buccaneers 86 yards in eight plays, capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to fullback Byron Storer. McCown finished 7-for-10 for 79 yards.

“It was a good opportunity for us to go against a quality defense,” Griese said. “I know they had some guys out, but this team is a really good team, and for us to come out and put a drive out from the start of the game was good for our confidence and good for our team.”

The Patriots’ secondary also had trouble making open-field tackles and helping out on running plays. Tampa Bay’s Michael Bennett ran eight times for 57 yards (7.1 average) in the first half.

“Being able to come out and get some work in with the first group of guys felt good,” he said. “I was able to get into a good rhythm early.”

There’s improvement

With last season’s starting offensive linemen Stephen Neal (PUP) and All-Pro tackle Matt Light, along with Russ Hochstein, Ryan O’Callaghan and Oliver Ross (PUP), all out of action last night, the Patriots’ offensive line was a bit thin, but it didn’t show.

The group played much better than it had last week.

New England’s starting offensive linemen last night were Dan Koppen (center), Welsey Britt (left tackle), Logan Mankins (left guard), Nick Kaczur (right tackle) and Billy Yates (right guard).

A career best

Stephen Gostkowski’s 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half that cut Tampa’s lead to 17-3 was the longest of his career. His previous best was a 52-yarder on Nov. 26, 2006, at Gillette Stadium against the Chicago Bears.

Lynch’s debut

Veteran safety John Lynch made his Patriots debut last night, seeing his first action six minutes into the game on a third-and-two play. Lynch, who signed with New England as a free agent on Friday, spent the first 11 years of his career with Tampa Bay (1993-2003), and was a leader of the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl XXXVII championship team in 2002.

Quick kicks

Laurence Maroney rushed seven times for 15 yards before calling it a night. … Randy Moss caught two passes for 25 yards in his first preseason game action. … Rookie linebacker Jerrod Mayo had seven tackles in the first half. … Running back LaMont Jordan, who rushed for a game-high 76 yards and a TD against Baltimore, did not play last night. … The Patriots are off today and get back to work tomorrow.

roblee@projo.com