Buccaneers’ Week 3 matchup with Vikings just got tougher with Kyler Murray’s return

The 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the 2-0 Minnesota Vikings next weekend, and an unfavorable matchup just became even more difficult with the news they'll be facing Kyler Murray, rather than Carson Wentz.

Murray went down with a concussion in the Vikings' season opener that kept him sidelined in Week 2, but according to Adam Schefter, Murray has cleared protocol and will return against the Buccaneers.

Tampa Bay can't afford to fall to 0-3, but at this point, there's no reason to believe they'll be beat a really good Vikings team with too many weapons to count on offense and a stifling, blitz-heavy defense.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers face a must-win game against Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings in Week 3

The Buccaneers have faced Murray just once in his career, and Tampa Bay won the game 30-27 over the Arizona Cardinals back in 2019.

While the Bucs came away with a win, Murray had a day against Todd Bowles' defense. He finished 27-of-44 for 324 yards and three touchdowns, and led the team in rushing with 38 yards on the ground.

This time around, Murray will have Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson at his disposal.

Considering the Buccaneers just allowed Deshaun Watson to carve them up and play his best game as a Cleveland Brown, Murray should have quite the get-right game in his return from injury against a lousy defense.

It's only a small sample size through two weeks, but Tampa Bay is currently No. 22 against the pass, and No. 5 against the run. Given how stifling the Buccaneers' run defense is, Murray and the Vikings are likely to go pass-heavy and test Tampa Bay's leaky coverage with their arsenal of weapons.

Things don't get any easier on the other side of the ball, as the Vikings boast a defensive unit that is built to give Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers headaches. Through two weeks, Minnesota has blitzed opponents on 73% of defensive plays -- the next closest team blitzes on just 54% of plays. Considering how shaky the offensive line has been for Tampa Bay, facing this Vikings defense is the worst possible assignment.

This was already an ugly matchup for the Buccaneers, and the return of Minnesota's starting quarterback just tipped the scale even further in the Vikings' favor.

If they don't come to play on both sides of the ball, the Buccaneers are in serious danger of getting humiliated in front of the Raymond James Stadium crowd for the second week in a row.

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