The Tampa Bay Buccaneers losing to the Atlanta Falcons last week was a painful loss, both in terms of how they lost and what it meant in the current standings. It was a chance for the Bucs to take full control of the division, but now they are looking up at the Falcons in the standings. This points them in a position where this coming game becomes almost a must win.
Sunday The Bucs will take on the New Orleans Saints in the Big Easy. This is always a battle between the two heated rivals and is oftentimes a matter of who can impose their will. This won’t be easy for the Bucs as the Saints have looked better than expected in this young season.
Taking advantage of matchups and winning where you can is what this game will come down to. One good or bad matchup could be the difference in this game. Here are my week six Skeleton Keys to victory.
Rattle The Rookie
Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr is injured and expected to miss a few weeks of time. This means that New Orleans will be rolling with a rookie on Sunday, Spencer Rattler.
This will be Spencer Rattler’s first start in the NFL. This means he has not adjusted to NFL speed and is not familiar with the complexity of NFL defenses. This is something that Todd Bowles has to take advantage of.
Dialing up pressure will be a big factor for the Bucs in this game. Speeding up the quarterback’s clock, hurrying throws and moving the questerback off his spot are all things that will make this Saints offense sputter with a rookie under center. Sacks and turnovers of course would be great, but even without a lot of those the Bucs are good enough to stop this opponent.
Limit Turnovers
It seems like every year the Saints kick the can down the road and try to win with an aging roster. They have done that again this year and as a result still are holding on to some quality veteran players. The likes of Demario Davis, Marshon Lattimore and Tyrann Mathieu are still starting on this New Orleans defense.
With this blend of experience and talent, the Saints defense has actually played fairly well. They currently rank 11th in points allowed and four of the teams better than them in this area have played one less game. A big reason for this is forcing turnovers.
The Saints rank 4th in the NFL in takeaways. They are a savvy and opportunistic defense and that is where they hang their hat. The are middle of the pack in both run defense and pass defense, but forcing turnovers is what makes them dangerous. Don’t turn the ball over against this team and the Bucs should be able to put some points on the board.
Wrap It Up
We are out of the window of making excuses like “well, it’s still early in the year”. This is week six and the rust should all be kicked off at this point. Unfortunately, this hasn’t looke like the case for this Buccaneers defense.
I am specifically talking about tackling, or lack thereof. The Buccaneers rank 6th in total missed tackles by a team with 36 missed tackles through five games. There is no excuse for this, injuries or otherwise.
This will be perhaps the biggest factor in this game. Saints running back Alvin Kamara has always been elusive and he continues to be the heart of this New Orleans offense. Wrap up ball carriers and bring them to the ground and the Bucs defense should be in good shape.
Overall
It’s hard for me to sit here and say that the Bucs aren’t a better team than the Saints. Then on top of that, the Saints are banged up coming off a short week and the Bucs are getting healthy off a mini bye. There is every reason the Buccaneers should win this game.
I think that’s exactly what they do and they right the ship in a bounce back division win.
Prediction
Buccaneers – 24
Saints – 20
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