This is a must win. There’s no other way to slice it. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they can’t afford to go 0-2 against the Atlanta Falcons - which would effectively pave the way for them to go 6-0 in the NFC South and put a stranglehold on the division. Of course, there’s a lot of time left and the Falcons certainly have a tougher schedule late in the year than the Bucs do, but that’s a significant hole to try and dig themselves out of.
So, if the Bucs are going to do what no one expects - beat the Falcons without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin - then there are some players that have to rise to the occasion and step up. So who are the players to watch on Sunday?
Rachaad White
The three headed monster of One Buck Tuck will be in full force, but it’ll be on White to be the everything guy for the offense. Almost as if he’s the Antoine Winfield Jr. of the offense. He has to be effective in the run game, effective in picking up blitzes, but most of all he has to be a big focus in the passing game. White is at his best when he gets the ball in space and he’s going to have plenty of chances to do exactly that on Sunday.
In their first meeting, White had 77 yards rushing but his three receptions for -6 yards wasn’t anywhere close to where he needs to be. White is the biggest offensive playmaker left and Liam Coen is going to have to lean heavily on him in this one.
Jalen McMillan
Welcome to the NFL, rook - you just became the team’s top target at wide receiver. While his rookie season hasn’t lived up to the off-season and training camp hype that could be more a product of his situation than his actual ability. Godwin and Evans have been dominant, so the Bucs haven’t had to lean on him very much. Now, it’ll be McMillan and Sterling Shepard that will have to elevate their game and fill those shoes.
As an impressive standout at Washington, McMillan has shown the ability to high point the ball and work his way open. He’s going to need to do a lot of that for the next few weeks, starting with Sunday.
Antoine Winfield Jr.
Antoine is always a guy to watch, but especially in this one. Winfield Jr. wasn’t on the field the first time these two teams met and Kirk Cousins was able to pick apart the middle of the defense all game long. K.J. Britt was abused, the secondary had no answers - but that has a chance to change this time around.
Winfield Jr., while Todd Bowles will send him after Cousins on occasion, needs to be a centerfielder on Sunday. Sit back to read Cousins and allow him to patrol the back end of the defense where all of a sudden those open looks in the middle of the field aren’t going to be as open as Cousins may have thought. Winfield Jr. can be a nightmare for Cousins and the Falcons’ pass catchers on Sunday.
Yaya Diaby, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Chris Braswell
I’m lumping all these guys together because the pass rush has to get after Cousins in this one. If the Bucs are going to blitz Lamar Jackson like crazy, they have to be even more aggressive against Cousins.
In their first meeting, Cousins was pressured on just 17% of dropbacks. That needs to be north of 20%, closer to 25% if they’re going to rattle him. Allowing Cousins the kind of clean pockets he had three weeks ago and giving him time to wait for players to get open is a recipe for disaster. Another thing Cousins didn’t see the first time around was Calijah Kancey, and Kancey opens up a lot of things for these edge rushers as we’ve seen them improve over the last couple weeks.
Bring the blitzes, bring the pressure - but it’s on those front guys and the edge rushers to create chaos in the backfield all day long without Bowles having to send extra players. That way, when he does send the extra players, the Falcons won’t have any answers.
Cade Otton
Otton is coming off a career game against Baltimore. Tied a career high with ten targets while setting career highs in receptions - eight - and yards - 100. Otton is about to become the primary third down guy with Godwin out. Otton has had his struggles this season, but has come on strong over the last few weeks. Now, he’s going to be Baker Mayfield’s new best friend as he becomes a much larger part of the offense for the rest of the season.
Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
Sunday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. ET
Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)
Tampa, Florida
Television: FOX
TV Broadcast Team: Adam Amin (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Pam Oliver (reporter)
Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station
Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente
Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst)
This is a must win. There’s no other way to slice it. For the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they can’t afford to go 0-2 against the Atlanta Falcons - which would effectively pave the way for them to go 6-0 in the NFC South and put a stranglehold on the division. Of course, there’s a lot of time left and the Falcons certainly have a tougher schedule late in the year than the Bucs do, but that’s a significant hole to try and dig themselves out of.
So, if the Bucs are going to do what no one expects - beat the Falcons without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin - then there are some players that have to rise to the occasion and step up. So who are the players to watch on Sunday?
Rachaad White
The three headed monster of One Buck Tuck will be in full force, but it’ll be on White to be the everything guy for the offense. Almost as if he’s the Antoine Winfield Jr. of the offense. He has to be effective in the run game, effective in picking up blitzes, but most of all he has to be a big focus in the passing game. White is at his best when he gets the ball in space and he’s going to have plenty of chances to do exactly that on Sunday.
In their first meeting, White had 77 yards rushing but his three receptions for -6 yards wasn’t anywhere close to where he needs to be. White is the biggest offensive playmaker left and Liam Coen is going to have to lean heavily on him in this one.
Jalen McMillan
Welcome to the NFL, rook - you just became the team’s top target at wide receiver. While his rookie season hasn’t lived up to the off-season and training camp hype that could be more a product of his situation than his actual ability. Godwin and Evans have been dominant, so the Bucs haven’t had to lean on him very much. Now, it’ll be McMillan and Sterling Shepard that will have to elevate their game and fill those shoes.
As an impressive standout at Washington, McMillan has shown the ability to high point the ball and work his way open. He’s going to need to do a lot of that for the next few weeks, starting with Sunday.
Antoine Winfield Jr.
Antoine is always a guy to watch, but especially in this one. Winfield Jr. wasn’t on the field the first time these two teams met and Kirk Cousins was able to pick apart the middle of the defense all game long. K.J. Britt was abused, the secondary had no answers - but that has a chance to change this time around.
Winfield Jr., while Todd Bowles will send him after Cousins on occasion, needs to be a centerfielder on Sunday. Sit back to read Cousins and allow him to patrol the back end of the defense where all of a sudden those open looks in the middle of the field aren’t going to be as open as Cousins may have thought. Winfield Jr. can be a nightmare for Cousins and the Falcons’ pass catchers on Sunday.
Yaya Diaby, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, Chris Braswell
I’m lumping all these guys together because the pass rush has to get after Cousins in this one. If the Bucs are going to blitz Lamar Jackson like crazy, they have to be even more aggressive against Cousins.
In their first meeting, Cousins was pressured on just 17% of dropbacks. That needs to be north of 20%, closer to 25% if they’re going to rattle him. Allowing Cousins the kind of clean pockets he had three weeks ago and giving him time to wait for players to get open is a recipe for disaster. Another thing Cousins didn’t see the first time around was Calijah Kancey, and Kancey opens up a lot of things for these edge rushers as we’ve seen them improve over the last couple weeks.
Bring the blitzes, bring the pressure - but it’s on those front guys and the edge rushers to create chaos in the backfield all day long without Bowles having to send extra players. That way, when he does send the extra players, the Falcons won’t have any answers.
Cade Otton
Otton is coming off a career game against Baltimore. Tied a career high with ten targets while setting career highs in receptions - eight - and yards - 100. Otton is about to become the primary third down guy with Godwin out. Otton has had his struggles this season, but has come on strong over the last few weeks. Now, he’s going to be Baker Mayfield’s new best friend as he becomes a much larger part of the offense for the rest of the season.
Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
Sunday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. ET
Raymond James Stadium (capacity: 65,844)
Tampa, Florida
Television: FOX
TV Broadcast Team: Adam Amin (play-by-play), Greg Olsen (analyst), Pam Oliver (reporter)
Radio: 98Rock (WXTB, 97.9 FM), Flagship Station
Radio Broadcast Team: Gene Deckerhoff (play-by-play), Dave Moore (analyst), T.J. Rives (reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente
Spanish Radio Broadcast Team: Carlos Bohorquez (play-by-play), Martin Gramática (analyst)
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