The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not looked impressive in any of their three games this season, and while they lost their last battle against an NFC North team to the Minnesota Vikings, their defense really stood up to the test vs. Kyler Murray and Aaron Jones. And had Baker Mayfield been competent on the day, the Bucs would have prevailed, just as they would have in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Beckoning the Buccaneers on Sunday this week is another NFC North foe in the Green Bay Packers, who are coming off a crazy blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons. And their own mercurial, likely overpaid quarterback, Jordan Love, is coming into this game with serious question marks. The Buccaneers defense has another advantage, too, that could force the issue and give their rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels a serious shot at outplaying Love.
The Buccaneers run defense looks nasty all of a sudden. Last season, the Bucs defense was passive and weak, so they made additions in the draft and free agency to sign veterans and rookies to give them an edge. So far, it's working. Josiah Trotter has been a menace at inside linebacker, A'Shawn Robinson leads all the Bucs defensive linemen with 13 tackles this season, and Alex Anzalone bounced back big-time from nightmare performances against the AFC North's Bengals and Cleveland Browns to dominate his old rival Vikings.
The Buccaneers will shut down the Packers' rushing attack
This season, the Bucs run defense is allowing just 3.1 yards per carry, which is so good that it is literally the second best mark in the NFL. The Buccaneers are allowing the second fewest rushing yards and are near the top five lowest in rushing touchdowns allowed, so this run defense is actually the best thing about the Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers are dead last in the NFL in rushing yards per attempt with just 3.0 yards per carry. For them, that is a recipe for disaster, and because of this matchup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Pack may be lucky to even get three yards per carry.
With star running back Josh Jacobs out, the Packers running game is dysfunctional. Three different running backs have carried the ball at least 11 times with none averaging more than 3.6 yards per carry. And not a single player on the Pack has a rushing touchdown.
The Buccaneers run defense is going to feast against the Packers, and since the Pack may not be able to move the ball forward on the ground at all, that puts them at a serious disadvantage on third down, fourth down, and in the red zone. It gives the Bucs pass rush more of a chance to pin their ears back and go at Jordan Love, who is going to be on even more pressure with no ground game to lean on.
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