Buccaneers: Defense hamstrung before final game of season

The backups

White and Barrett out hurts badly. Together, these two have accounted for 17 sacks this season, and trying to use backups to replicate this level of production will be a long shot.

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With the Bucs moving on to the next men in the depth chart, Kevin Minter and Anthony Nelson will move into the starting roles this week for White and Barrett, respectively.

Minter has much more starting experience than Nelson and should be more comfortable with starting reps than his young counterpart. Nelson will be the player who is most out of his element.

Nelson has predominantly been a special teamer since he arrived in the NFL, and tomorrow’s contest should be the most reps he has ever played in a game. This is a massive jump for a depth pass rusher who just earned his first sack, but this will be an excellent chance for the Buccaneers to evaluate their depth outside of Jason Pierre-Paul and Barrett.

If Carlton Davis misses tomorrow, the secondary will struggle even more against one of the league’s better passing attacks. Matt Ryan and company carved the defense up with ease in the first half of the last time these teams faced off, and the Bucs run the risk of having Davis for no snaps in this game.

Fortunately, midseason addition Ross Cockrell has looked good in his limited showing with the Buccaneers. However, it is still challenging to replicate Davis’ high level of play so far this season.

The Buccaneers are going to have to hope that their depth can step up in this divisional showdown, and with so much on the line, there is little room for error. This game will be a great determinant of where the Buccaneers are at going into the playoffs because nothing is certain moving forward regarding players returning.

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