Buccaneers vs New York Jets: Game Changers for Week 10

Marcus Maye

The Buccaneers are prone to turning the ball over, which makes facing rookie safety Marcus Maye a scary idea. The second-round pick out of Florida has two interceptions on the year in addition to a forced fumble. He also has 45 tackles to go along with those turnovers. Without main target Mike Evans, Ryan Fitzpatrick will have to be careful throwing the ball over the middle. Turnovers will kill any chance the Bucs have to snap their losing streak on Sunday.

With Evans out, Fitzpatrick still has DeSean Jackson, Adam Humphries, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate at his disposal. The problem, though, is that Maye and the rest of the Jets defense is playing the pass fairly well. They are just outside of the top half of the NFL in pass defense and will surely come ready to play against a backup quarterback. Maye is joined in the secondary by fellow rookie Jamal Adams, Morris Claiborne and Buster Skrine. Fitzpatrick needs to avoid making any mistakes because as soon as he makes one, those guys will be ready to take advantage.

Maye is still a rookie of course, so he will be prone to making mistakes. A missed assignment or two could be big if the Bucs can execute offensively. Seeing a few deep balls to Jackson early would be ideal for Tampa Bay, and if that connection is there, things will look good for an offense that has scored just one total touchdown in the last two games.