On Sunday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7-7) and the Carolina Panthers (7-7) battle for 1st place in the NFC South. Neither team has shown that they want this division so who knows what will happen.
The Bucs lost two straight home games to the Saints and Falcons while the Panthers blew a 10 point lead to the Saints who beat them twice this season.
Defensive Issues
The defensive issues with the Bucs have been well established. They can’t rush the passer, they give up huge plays on third and forth and long, and they leave the middle of the field wide open. Other than that they’ve been great!
We did see some signs of life on offense last week which gives me hope going into these final 3 games. They’re gonna have to score in the low to mid 30’s because expecting this defense to stop anyone is a waste of time. The best we can hope for is that they create a turnover which is something they’ve been relatively good at.
The Panthers have a very talented defensive front so Grizzard has to ensure that they keep a TE or RB close to Baker Mayfield to give him that extra second to find one of his talented guys. They have enough healthy WRs that someone will get open.
Simple Path
The excuses are over. The Bucs path to playoffs is simple. If they win 2 out of these next 3 games they win their division and host a playoff game.
Unfortunately they’ve been playing sloppy football at the worst possible time and have only won 1 game out of their past 6. Ever the optimist, I still think they can right this ship.
Sitting at home and listening to the chorus of boos targeted at Todd Bowles as he left the field was hard to listen to. Its been years since I’ve heard that type of thing. Maybe being on the road for the next two weeks can help?
Win on Sunday and it’ll be milk and cookies for Santa. Lose and it’ll be a lump of coal. Buccaneers give us a Merry Christmas by beating the Panthers 31- 27!
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