No other team in recent history has caused more issues for the Bucs than the Falcons have, despite their recent run of NFC South dominance.
Just last year, the Bucs won the division for a fourth straight time, but they needed some help from other teams in the league after getting swept by Atlanta during the regular season. One of the big reasons they had so much success against the Bucs was in part to their rushing attack and the time they gave their quarterbacks to pick apart the Bucs secondary.
One of the key players of the Falcons offensive line is guard Chris Lindstrom. He is someone that PFF identified in a recent article as being the biggest achilles heel for the Bucs in recent history.
They write, “Lindstrom has played terrifically against Tampa Bay throughout his career. He has recorded at least an 80.0 PFF overall grade in seven of their 10 most recent meetings. As is customary, Lindstrom has dominated the Buccaneers on the ground with a 91.4 PFF run-blocking grade. Still just 28 years old, he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so Tampa Bay will have to figure out a way to beat him.”
Lindstrom is among the best guards in the NFL. It is unfortunate the Bucs have to play him twice a year, but it is a must-see TV event when they do.
Lindtsrom going head-to-head with the likes of Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey is the equivalent of a heavyweight title fight on Sunday. They will play two more times this year, of course, so they have more chances to prove they can learn how to beat him.