Yet another hard-fought battle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this year’s effort to defend the NFC South title and win the division for a fourth straight year. Coming off a close overtime win over the Panthers, sparking a win streak and tying the Falcons for the division lead at 6-6, spirits were high inside the Bucs locker room. With the spiraling Raiders coming into town for week thirteen and a favorable schedule after that, these Bucs are gearing up for a real playoff push.
The Las Vegas Raiders came into play sporting a 2-win, 10-loss record, coming off a close, divisional loss on Black Friday against the Chiefs. The team gave their all in front of a national audience, with an outstanding defensive effort against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense.
So maybe their 2-10 record isn’t a true representation of who Las Vegas is as a football team?
Well, it was evident from early on that this Raiders team wasn’t the same as the team who was playing in a divisional rivalry game just a week ago. Although their defense had three turnovers and forced multiple punts, it was the Tampa Bay defense that reigned supreme over Las Vegas and their offense that features players who are solid players, but not exactly household names.
It was after a fast, productive first quarter from the Bucs, that they began to dwindle out of control and begin turning the ball over. It was 14-0 in favor of Tampa Bay when Baker Mayfield threw an interception at the very start of the second quarter. A quick screen pass was impressively tipped and secured by Las Vegas defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson, an amazing individual effort.
That initial interception is what sparked the Bucs turnover-induced second quarter and turned this lopsided affair into a close match-up that had the Raiders right in the mix. The next two drives from Tampa Bay included a lost fumble after Baker Mayfield was hit attempting to pass the ball and a costly red-zone interception with under a minute left in the first half. Normally, these mistakes would cost this Buccaneers’ team, but when you’re playing a 2-10 opponent, you’re able to get away with those types of mistakes.
When the second half began, the Bucs led 14-10, with the Raiders to receive. My personal play of the game is Tykee Smith’s third quarter interception. After the Raiders received, they executed a drive that chewed over ten minutes off of the clock, driving into the Bucs red zone. Smith checked into the game for the Bucs once the Raiders entered the red zone a play prior, in which he directly began hovering over star rookie tight end Brock Bowers, Tykee’s college teammate at the University of Georgia just a year ago.
On a second and eight, just outside of the Tampa Bay ten yard line- Smith cut off Bowers route, just in time to secure the tough interception. In a four-point game, a turnover like that decides games. At the least, the Raiders could have kicked a field goal and knocked the lead down to one. But instead, Smith took away any Las Vegas points they were thinking about on that drive and gave Baker Mayfield and the offense a chance to extend the lead.
After that play, it seemed like the Raiders were playing catch up with Tampa Bay. Although they couldn’t score on the drive after Smith’s turnover, the Bucs continued to trust their defense and kept placing the Raiders deep in their own territory.
Continuous contributions from Smith and Kaevon Merriweather on defense sparked the Bucs second half turnaround, and bursted energy into the entire team.
Merriweather saw himself playing every snap after starting safety Antoine Winfield Jr. went down with an injury and the young depth piece made the most of his opportunity. He racked up four tackles and even came through in the clutch with a third-down sack. With Winfield out for some time, Merriweather will have an expanded role and should look to continue wreaking havoc.
Both Tykee Smith and Kaevon Merriweather will play a major role down the stretch for this Tampa Bay team looking to push into the playoffs. A lot of responsibility will be put on them, but also onto a plethora of other young Buccaneers’ defenders. Names like Christian Izien, Chris Braswell, J.J. Russell are just a few of young Bucs who will have to contribute if Tampa Bay ends up pushing through and winning the division.
With Todd Bowles at the helm, he will surely have a plan for each and every player, both on the roster and practice squad. Injuries have played a key part in this Bucs season, but that doesn’t seem to have shifted their sights from the top spot in the division and making a post season push in January.
Yet another hard-fought battle for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this year’s effort to defend the NFC South title and win the division for a fourth straight year. Coming off a close overtime win over the Panthers, sparking a win streak and tying the Falcons for the division lead at 6-6, spirits were high inside the Bucs locker room. With the spiraling Raiders coming into town for week thirteen and a favorable schedule after that, these Bucs are gearing up for a real playoff push.
The Las Vegas Raiders came into play sporting a 2-win, 10-loss record, coming off a close, divisional loss on Black Friday against the Chiefs. The team gave their all in front of a national audience, with an outstanding defensive effort against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense.
So maybe their 2-10 record isn’t a true representation of who Las Vegas is as a football team?
Well, it was evident from early on that this Raiders team wasn’t the same as the team who was playing in a divisional rivalry game just a week ago. Although their defense had three turnovers and forced multiple punts, it was the Tampa Bay defense that reigned supreme over Las Vegas and their offense that features players who are solid players, but not exactly household names.
It was after a fast, productive first quarter from the Bucs, that they began to dwindle out of control and begin turning the ball over. It was 14-0 in favor of Tampa Bay when Baker Mayfield threw an interception at the very start of the second quarter. A quick screen pass was impressively tipped and secured by Las Vegas defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson, an amazing individual effort.
That initial interception is what sparked the Bucs turnover-induced second quarter and turned this lopsided affair into a close match-up that had the Raiders right in the mix. The next two drives from Tampa Bay included a lost fumble after Baker Mayfield was hit attempting to pass the ball and a costly red-zone interception with under a minute left in the first half. Normally, these mistakes would cost this Buccaneers’ team, but when you’re playing a 2-10 opponent, you’re able to get away with those types of mistakes.
When the second half began, the Bucs led 14-10, with the Raiders to receive. My personal play of the game is Tykee Smith’s third quarter interception. After the Raiders received, they executed a drive that chewed over ten minutes off of the clock, driving into the Bucs red zone. Smith checked into the game for the Bucs once the Raiders entered the red zone a play prior, in which he directly began hovering over star rookie tight end Brock Bowers, Tykee’s college teammate at the University of Georgia just a year ago.
On a second and eight, just outside of the Tampa Bay ten yard line- Smith cut off Bowers route, just in time to secure the tough interception. In a four-point game, a turnover like that decides games. At the least, the Raiders could have kicked a field goal and knocked the lead down to one. But instead, Smith took away any Las Vegas points they were thinking about on that drive and gave Baker Mayfield and the offense a chance to extend the lead.
After that play, it seemed like the Raiders were playing catch up with Tampa Bay. Although they couldn’t score on the drive after Smith’s turnover, the Bucs continued to trust their defense and kept placing the Raiders deep in their own territory.
Continuous contributions from Smith and Kaevon Merriweather on defense sparked the Bucs second half turnaround, and bursted energy into the entire team.
Merriweather saw himself playing every snap after starting safety Antoine Winfield Jr. went down with an injury and the young depth piece made the most of his opportunity. He racked up four tackles and even came through in the clutch with a third-down sack. With Winfield out for some time, Merriweather will have an expanded role and should look to continue wreaking havoc.
Both Tykee Smith and Kaevon Merriweather will play a major role down the stretch for this Tampa Bay team looking to push into the playoffs. A lot of responsibility will be put on them, but also onto a plethora of other young Buccaneers’ defenders. Names like Christian Izien, Chris Braswell, J.J. Russell are just a few of young Bucs who will have to contribute if Tampa Bay ends up pushing through and winning the division.
With Todd Bowles at the helm, he will surely have a plan for each and every player, both on the roster and practice squad. Injuries have played a key part in this Bucs season, but that doesn’t seem to have shifted their sights from the top spot in the division and making a post season push in January.
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