Trust the Ground Game
The Bucs have a tough task this week going against the vaunted Kansas City defense and an elite pass rusher in Justin Houston. Houston had 22 sacks in 2014 and is still a threat even recovering from a knee injury. The Kansas City Chiefs are a defense that has a knack for the ball and lead the league in takeaways and have the best turnover differential in the league, +14. With the added pass rush pressure Houston creates it’s imperative that Winston can trust his ground game.
Doug Martin is now fully healthy from his hamstring injury and will be crucial to the Bucs success this week. The best way to stop an effective pass rush is a successful ground game. With Martin fully healthy, he should have a bounce back game from last week where he averaged two yards per carry. This will also be a big game for the offensive line as well, creating holes for Martin and protecting Jameis. If Jameis has to throw against this defense it could turn into a similar game against Arizona. Winston has been more careful with the ball lately but with limited receivers around him Martin will be crucial to keeping the Chiefs and Justin Houston at bay.