The Buccaneers can’t play it safe versus the Colts.
The Buccaneers have to beat the Colts if they want to prove that they are playoff contenders. The Bucs have proven that they can beat the bad teams, but beating the good teams is how a team like Tampa can ensure they are ready for the rigor of the playoffs.
The Colts are certainly one of those good teams, and Tampa needs to make sure that they end up in the win column tomorrow if they want to have any level of confidence going into the final push for the season.
If Tampa wants to win this game in a convincing fashion, they will need to make some changes in their play calling.
Conservative decision-making, which has been the norm in recent weeks, can’t be the defining factor for the offense or the defense.
The check downs, short passes, and dozens of easy, scripted plays to Leonard Fournette rather than anyone else is causing the offense to stagnate. The offense has been at its best when it is taking shots deep and pushing the ball downfield, and that is the one aspect that the Bucs have missed the most in recent weeks.
On defense, the Buccaneers can’t be too reactive to the run-heavy approach that is bound to come from the Colts. Jonathan Taylor is going to get touches, but selling out to stop him will only allow the Colts to score even faster through the air.
Taking chances has defined this team. Tampa can’t stop taking these chances just because their competition is getting better, and the offense at least needs to start getting back to what worked so well at the start of this season and last year.
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