Buccaneers vs. Broncos: Why Week 3 matchup is a must-win

Why the Buccaneers must beat the Broncos in Week 3 matchup

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Denver to take on the Broncos in a game that could be labeled a ‘must win’ early on in the 2020 season.

While we should always be quick to not overreact to a singular game in the scope of an entire season, there’s no doubt that this weekend’s matchup is going to be impactful in terms of the Buccaneers’ postseason hopes and the magnitude for what a loss could do this early on in the year.

Let’s make two things clear:

1. Tampa Bay can win this game and still miss the playoffs
2. The Bucs can lose the game and still make the playoffs

But that doesn’t make this any less of a must-win for the Buccaneers for this very reason

Yes, it’s true that the game is in September and that the Bucs can still accomplish all of their goals with a loss, and could still miss all of their goals with a victory.

That being said, the reason this game is a ‘must-win’ is because there simply aren’t a lot of givens on this schedule.

The Bucs are a six-point favorite coming into this one and they’re playing against a depleted Broncos team that is missing their starting quarterback. If you can’t win a game like that, how do you expect to compete against the likes of the Chiefs, Packers, Saints or even Falcons later in the season? Not to mention the fact that another loss this early in the season against a team that likely will have a top-10 pick in next year’s draft could conceivably throw chemistry and team morale all out of whack.

A win Sunday doesn’t guarantee anything, but a loss puts the Bucs well behind the eight-ball before the season is even revved into full gear.

That’s what makes this one so important.

The Bucs should come out of this one victorious and if they don’t, you’re talking about a long trek back up the mountain before they’re considered legitimate competitors again.