It is do or die for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They desperately cling to their playoff chances after falling to the Dallas Cowboys last week and losing the lead in the NFC South. Now they must win their last two games to have a realistic shot to make the postseason and that won’t be easy as they prepare to host a team that gave them all that they could handle the last time the played.
This week the Carolina Panthers come to Tampa in an attempt to play spoiler. After nearly beating the Bucs before fumbling the game away when they played a few weeks ago, it’s sure that payback will be on their minds. Perhaps not the ideal matchup for a Bucs team who is looking to right the ship.
Can the Buccaneers become that dangerous playoff team that no one wants to play or will this be a lost season? That will in part be decided this Sunday. I look at the key matchups in this game in my week 17 Skeleton Keys to victory.
Feed The Beast
Last week the offense was less than impressive. There were several reasons for that, but a notable one was that star wide receiver Mike Evans only had 5 catches for 69 yards. Priority number one this week should be getting him more involved.
Evans draws all the attention from opposing defenses and makes everyone else’s life easier. With that said, I don’t care how much the Panthers are keyed in on him. Evans needs to get more targets this week.
The Panthers top cornerback Jaycee Horn is listed as doubtful to play. There isn’t anyone else on Carolina’s roster that can come remotely close to matching up with Evans. This makes for a strong advantage for the Buccaneers.
Now, I’m not saying that Baker Mayfield should just bomb it up to him in triple coverage. However, Evans needs to be a focal point and get a few deep shots, even if those are lower percentage attempts of being successful. Let your super star go up and make a play against inferior competition.
Do The Safety Dance!
The last time these two teams played the Panthers found a lot of success throwing the ball to the middle of the field. This has been a theme for many teams against this Buccaneers defense this season. Todd Bowles needs to find an answer to what Carolina found so effective the last time these two teams played.
Perhaps that answer is more dime packages on defense. It’s something that has made sense for this team in theory, but with an ongoing wave of injuries to the Bucs safety room it has been easier said than done. Maybe this is the week it comes together.
With Jordan Whitehead potentially returning this week then it gives the Bucs a realistic pair of starters at safety, Whitehead as the strong safety enforcing the box and Mike Edwards covering more ground on the back end. Remember, these were two critical players in the secondary for the Bucs most recent Super Bowl team.
It’s also important to remember that both Whitehead and nickel Tykee Smith did not play the last time these two teams played. Edwards also suffered a hamstring injury in that game. With a healthier group of safeties to work with, hopefully the Bucs can defend the pass better this time around.
Rattle Young Bryce
The Panthers have a good offensive line. We saw that first hand a few weeks ago as they did a nice job protecting second year quarterback Bryce Young. It allowed the young signal caller to be comfortable and do a nice job of picking the Bucs apart.
That can’t be the case this week. Especially considering that the Panthers will be missing their great right tackle Taylor Moton. A crack in the dam can lead to a flood of pressures in a game where the Panthers are pretty outclassed overall.
This is a game where Yaya Diaby and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka need to step up. We know the kind of attention that the Buccaneers defensive tackles will get (a lot) so the edge rushers need to take advantage. They have the matchup in their favor and need to show that they, especially Diaby, can be an impactful part of this defense.
Overall
It was true the last time these two teams played and it’s true now, the Bucs are the far better team here. If both teams play their best then this would be a comfortable victory for the good guys. However, that was not the case for the Bucs last week or in week 13 when they played the Panthers.
With their backs against the wall, I do expect this team to respond. Everything is on the line for Tampa Bay and they need to approach this game like a playoff game.
Prediction
Panthers – 13
Buccaneers – 34
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