After a good win against Atlanta, the Buccaneers head to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars. Here is a preview of this week 13 matchup.
This season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been a disappointment but there have been plenty of positive things to think they might have a bright future. The remainder of this season will be much like a tryout for some players on the roster. Last week against Falcons the team showed some real potential.
Chris Godwin continued his great campaign this season with 184 yards and two touchdowns. The Buccaneers offense was able to move the ball against Atlanta and Jameis Winston had a solid day passing for over 300 yards and limited his turnovers to only two.
This week’s player evaluation will continue in Jacksonville as the Bucs take on a struggling Jaguars team that was blown out in Tennessee last week by the Titans. Jacksonville’s offense looked stagnant and quarterback Nick Foles struggled to get the offense moving for most of the game.
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The Jags defense couldn’t stop the bleeding against Tennessee which bodes well for the Bucs very capable offense. If the Bucs want to win this game they will need to stop Leonard Fournette in the running game and limit wide receiver D.J Chark.
The Buccaneers defense will need to continue their success against the run, currently, they have the second-best defense against the run. The defense will be up against a bruiser of a running back in Leonard Fournette, his playstyle is one that’s not easy to stop, he can turn a 2 yard run into 5 with ease. The Buccaneers will need to work on their tackling drills extra this week because Fournette will not go down without a fight.
On the other side of the ball, Jameis Winston will be facing a struggling Jacksonville defense. The Jaguars are ranked 29th in rush defense so expect the Bucs to try and take advantage of that.
In the secondary, the Jags have remained solid for most of this season without cornerback Jalen Ramsey as they are still 10th in passing yards allowed. Last week the Jags continued their struggle against the run as running back Derrick Henry had a field day rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
If the Bucs want to win this game they will need their defense to contain Leonard Fournette and pound the ball in the running game, Ronald Jones remains the starting running back for Tampa and he will need to help get this offense going. Jameis Winston will need to limit the turnovers and feed the ball to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin as he usually does.
At the end of the year when the Buccaneers evaluate the players and try to figure out who to keep and who to let go, they will look back at games like this one. For many players, this game may dictate whether they have a job in Tampa come next season.