Coming off the bye week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are heading on the road to take on the New York Giants. Tampa Bay is 4-6 so far this season, but they’re looking to stay in the playoff hunt with a win.
The bye week happened at a good time. The Buccaneers have lost four consecutive games despite all but one game being decided by one score. If there is a way to get back on track, a win over the Giants could potentially start something special.
New York is 2-8 and also had a bye week last week. The Giants, similarly to the Buccaneers, have lost five consecutive games. However, the Giants have made a big change at the quarterback position. After six seasons, Daniel Jones was benched and released, so New York will turn to Tommy DeVito as their new signal-caller.
Tampa Bay made some moves of their own, starting with claiming former Buccaneer safety Mike Edwards off waivers from the Tennessee Titans. The Buccaneers also expect to see the return of star wide receiver Mike Evans. According to Ian Rapoport, he shouldn’t have any restrictions.
After getting injured against the Baltimore Ravens, Evans missed three games due to a moderate hamstring strain. As of now, Evans is listed as questionable, but head coach Todd Bowles said this about the receiver’s status.
“We’ll play him as long as he’s healthy and fresh,” Bowles said. “If he needs to be in there, he’ll be in there, but we’ll get him out when we have to.”
Along with Evans being questionable, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ official injury report lists defensive tackle Greg Gaines, and cornerbacks Jamel Dean, Troy Hill and Zyon McCollum as questionable. Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Tykee Smith are both inactive for the game.
This season’s comparison between these two teams is interesting. Tampa Bay’s offense on a per game basis ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in every major statistical category. That includes total offense, passing, rushing and points. The Buccaneers may have a favorable matchup in the running game, as the Giants are among the league’s worst in defending the run, allowing over 147 rushing yards per game, which could benefit Rachaad White, Bucky Irving and Sean Tucker.
Otherwise, New York has a decent defense and they are ranked in the top five against the pass, allowing just 184 passing yards a game. The Giants’ offense has been a problem for the team and it shows on the stat sheet. The Giants have scored the least amount of points per game in the league as they’ve averaged just over 15 points. New York is also bottom 10 in total offense and passing. The running game has been about league average to this point.
The Buccaneers’ defense has been a weakness throughout the season. Tampa Bay’s run defense is roughly average, but their total and passing defense have been among the bottom three this season. Additionally, the Buccaneers are in the bottom 10 in terms of points allowed per game. It remains to be seen what DeVito and the Giants’ offense can do, but the Buccaneers’ defense has been picked apart so far this season.
Some of these topics were covered in the two most recent episodes of The Sick Podcast – Pirate Parlay: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These episodes were Bucs Talk #59 – Can The Bucs Push For A Playoff Spot? and Bucs Talk #60 – Behind Enemy Territory: Bucs vs Giants Preview.
With a win, Tampa Bay will be in prime position for a playoff spot, potentially even the division title, with a favorable schedule to finish out the season. But that starts this week in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
