Bailey Adams
The Broncos’ defense is probably the toughest that the Bucs will face all year long. Tampa Bay needs solid production from the backfield this week if it wants to score enough points to win. Without Doug Martin, it makes sense that the offense relies even more on Jameis Winston. But, against a defense as good as Denver’s, there needs to be more balance. If the Bucs can’t find any, the Broncos won’t have much guessing to do.
Head coach Dirk Koetter has already said that the Bucs are throwing the ball too much. He’s not wrong. Over three weeks, Winston has averaged 47.3 attempts per game. In each of the last two games, he has thrown the ball over 50 times. Even without Martin on the field, the Bucs need to get something going on the ground. Whether it’s Charles Sims or Jacquizz Rodgers, someone has to run the ball effectively to take pressure off of Winston. Without a running game, Tampa Bay will have a lot of trouble getting past the Broncos’ defense.