Buccaneers at Dolphins: Five game-changing players for Week 11
By Bailey Adams
Cameron Wake
The Buccaneers offensive line is, at best, inconsistent. It only allowed one sack to the Jets in last week’s game, but still crumbled under heavy pressure. The Dolphins aren’t exactly setting the world on fire defensively, which is a positive for the Bucs. However, they will have to keep Cameron Wake out of the backfield if they want to keep things moving forward. Wake, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, is a dangerous man off the edge.
With Wake lining up as the left defensive end, he should be matched up against Demar Dotson. That matchup is more favorable than Tampa Bay than Wake against Donovan Smith. Smith has seen his share of struggles this year, while Dotson is having a solid season. There are other threats on the Miami front, of course, but Wake leads the team with six sacks. Those six sacks amount to 37.5 percent of the team’s sack total. That type of production is tough to overlook.
The veteran out of Penn State will be a big problem if the Bucs allow him to be. Ryan Fitzpatrick under pressure is a dangerous thing. He, like Jameis Winston, can make bad decisions when facing a heavy rush. Turnovers can kill a team’s chances of winning, which is why the Tampa Bay o-line needs to keep Wake away from Fitz. That will fall on Dotson, but he’ll likely get some tight end help as well. If Wake is consistently getting after the quarterback and putting him on the ground, the Bucs offense will struggle again on Sunday.