Home NFL Skeleton Keys To Victory: Buccaneers vs Broncos

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles/via buccaneers.com

Skeleton Keys To Victory: Buccaneers vs Broncos

September 19, 2024

It was a big win for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday as they went into Detroit and beat a Lions team that knocked them out of the playoffs last season. And while everyone loves victory Monday, the celebration can’t last too long. The Bucs must now turn their attention to the next matchup on the calendar.

This week, the Bucs will play host to the Denver Broncos. This is, frankly, one of the worst teams in the NFL. However, with the Bucs injury situation and looking to stay on top of the playoff hunt, it’s a game that can’t be overlooked.

The Broncos do have some very good players that will make for nice matchups. Will it be enough to bamboozle the Bucs? Here are my week three Skeleton Keys to victory.

Rattle The Rookie

This week the Bucs will play against their second d rookie quarterback of the young season. Bo Nix was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year at the University of Oregon. His spectacular season took the Ducks to the PAC-12 Championship Game, and led him to be the 12th overall pick in the most recent draft.

Nix is a very different quarterback than what the Bucs saw in Jayden Daniels in week one. He doesn’t have the same type of mobility or arm strength like Daniels, so it leaves Nix to have his game based on timing and accuracy. These things can be more easily disrupted.

The Broncos are going to try to have Nix get the ball out of his hands quickly on short throws. This sets the Bucs up perfectly for their blitz heavy, press man attack that they have run in the past with great success. It should be a field day of pressuring Nix because this isn’t an offense that threatens anyone down field.

Establish The Run

This is a game where I expect everything to work offensively for the Bucs. Baker Mayfield should be able to pick the Broncos apart with relative ease. However, I hope that isn’t the approach that the Bucs take on Sunday.

This is a great chance for the Buccaneers running game to get going. After playing against two of the best defensive tackle duos in the league in the first two weeks, this will be a nice opportunity for the young offensive line to establish themselves. As bad as the interior of this offensive line has looked at times over the first two weeks, this is a matchup that should favor them.

Remember, this year is all about the growth and development of Graham Barton and Cody Mauch. It’s not especially important how well they play in week two, but it’s very important that they are constantly learning throughout the year to be ready to thrive in the playoffs. This will be a good gauge to see what they learn in the first two weeks and how they got better from that experience.

Protect The Ball

It’s easy to see that the Bucs are the more talented team in this game. Both offensively and defensively they should dominate this opponent, especially on their home field. There aren’t many ways I can see the Buccaneers losing this game.

Of course, the thing that can derail any team is always turnovers. A fumble here and a botched punt return there and all of a sudden great teams can be punched out by bad teams. Protecting the football is a must to control this game the way I expect them too.

At this point, I’m not worried about Mayfield in terms of turning the ball over. He has looked great in the first two weeks and he will only continue to get more comfortable in this new offense. In my mind, it’s all about holding onto the rock once the playmakers have it in their hands.

Overall

The Bucs should do what you expect a good team to do to a bad team in this game. Afterall, the Broncos have scored just one touchdown this year and it came with about 2:00 minutes to go in a multi score deficit. If I’m really being honest with you, this Denver team is probably the worst roster in the NFL.

Think of this as a scrimmage where you just want to get the young guys experience and try new things with the offense. The outcome of the game should never be in doubt, so the Bucs should just try to work on the things they want to improve.