New York Giants vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: What's the Game Plan for Tampa Bay?
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already exceeded their win total from the 2014 season, but now they’ll look to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since 2013.
The Bucs sit at 3-4 on the year, just a game under .500 and with a 2-1 record against division opponents. Coming off a bounce-back road win in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons last week, they’ll look to build more positive momentum after suffering a monumental collapse against Washington in Week 7.
Tampa Bay welcomes the New York Giants to Raymond James Stadium this week; the Giants are 4-4 and coming off a heartbreaking 52-49 loss in the final minutes last week against the New Orleans Saints.
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Let’s take a look at what the Bucs need to do on both sides of the ball on Sunday to come away with a big home win.
Offensive Game Plan
If ever there was a game for Jameis Winston to break out statistically, this might be it.
Last week, Saints quarterback Drew Brees picked apart the Giants pass defense with laughable ease, completing 39 of his 50 passes for 505 yards and seven scores and tying the NFL record for touchdown passes in a single game in the process.
You can bet Winston spent plenty of time breaking down the film and looking for ways to make sure he has similar success against New York through the air.
That said, the Bucs need to make sure to dance with the one who brought them, which means staying committed to Doug Martin and the ground game. Last week was the first time in four games he failed to top 100 yards rushing, but he’s proved already that he’s back to his Pro Bowl form from 2012. Both Martin and backup Charles Sims are on pace to amass 1,000-plus total yards apiece this season, which would make them just the second pair in franchise history to accomplish the feat—Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott did it in 1999.
An effective ground attack is exactly what Winston needs to open things up downfield. Keeping the New York defense committed to stacking the box to corral Martin will make the Giants susceptible to the play-action pass, giving Winston clear windows at the second and third levels.
The Bucs have little depth when it comes to pass-catchers, thanks to injuries to Vincent Jackson, Louis Murphy and Austin Seferian-Jenkins, so they’ll need the rest of the depth chart to step up again this week. Russell Shepard, Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries will see plenty of action alongside top target Mike Evans, while Brandon Myers and Cameron Brate will fill in for Seferian-Jenkins, which they did admirably last week.
Winston’s improvements over the last few games will be something to watch again this week. Since throwing four picks in Week 4, he hasn’t turned the ball over in the last three games, putting together a QB rating of 110.5 over that stretch, which is good enough for fourth-best in the NFL.
Winston showed plenty of veteran qualities in last week’s win over the Falcons, from holding safeties with his eyes to opening up throws down the seam to the opposite side of the field to improvising on broken plays and making things happen with his legs. He’s also taken over as the vocal leader, which should only improve the team’s intensity and demeanor moving forward.
If the Bucs can keep Martin churning on the ground and open things up down the field, this could be Winston’s first career 300-yard game through the air.
Defensive Game Plan
As much as Winston has to be salivating over his matchup against New York’s pass defense after the Giants' performance last week, Tampa Bay’s defensive back knows they will have their own hands full against Eli Manning and the Big Blue air attack this week.
Manning had an impressive day of his own in last week’s shootout loss to the Saints, throwing for 350 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. Unsurprisingly, Odell Beckham Jr. was the biggest beneficiary of Manning’s huge day, hauling in eight passes for 130 yards and three scores.
This plays right into Tampa Bay’s biggest weakness on defense, as the secondary has given up more than 300 yards passing in each of the last three games.
But while the Giants have plenty of firepower through the air, their ground game has been an inconsistent revolving door. Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Shane Vereen and now Orleans Darkwa have all had their chance to establish themselves as the lead back in the backfield, with no one standing out from the pack so far.
The Giants may not have much success on the ground this week, but with the way they threw the ball last week—combined with Tampa Bay’s recent struggles in pass defense—it’s likely they won’t need an effective rushing attack to be successful.
Just as they were last week, turnovers will be the key if the Bucs want to come away with a victory.
Despite being outgained by nearly 200 yards last week, Tampa Bay came away with a win thanks to four turnovers by the Falcons. Takeaways came in key moments to keep the Falcons from punching the ball in for points and directly led to most of Tampa Bay’s scoring.
The Bucs will have to improve their pass rush this week, hoping to force Manning into a few mistakes they can take advantage of with takeaways and short field position.
Key Matchups and Players to Watch
Odell Beckham vs. Johnthan Banks
Banks is easily Tampa Bay’s best cover man, so look for the Bucs to do everything they can to keep him matched up with Beckham, who is coming off his best performance of the season so far.
He may be just 5'11", but Beckham plays with the physicality of a much bigger receiver, which will put Banks’ size and length advantage to the test. If Banks can win at the line of scrimmage with his long arms and disrupt Beckham’s release and timing, it will go a long way toward helping Tampa Bay’s pass rush get after Manning.
Giants Pass-Rushers vs. Donovan Smith
The jury is still out on whether or not Jason Pierre-Paul will make his long-awaited season debut this week, but even if he’s unable to go, Smith will face a tough test against one of the league’s pleasantly surprising young rushers.
Damontre Moore leads the Giants with three sacks so far this year, and while Smith has been making slow and steady improvement over his rookie season, his weakness is still in pass protection against quicker edge players. If the Bucs want to take advantage of the Giants down the field, they’ll need their rookie left tackle to get the job done and give Winston enough time to work.
Prediction
This has all the makings of another shootout, with both defenses struggling recently to defend the pass. Both quarterbacks will be feeling comfortable and confident, so it will be all about which defense can rattle the opposing signal-caller and force turnovers.
New York’s pass rush is superior to Tampa Bay’s, which could be the tipping point that keeps Winston from taking full advantage of a reeling Giants secondary. Manning is the grizzled vet on the other side who should have another huge day if the Bucs can’t find a spark in their front four to get after him and force mistakes.
Winston will keep the Bucs in this game until the end, but the Giants have the veteran experience and just a little more firepower to win a close one.
Prediction: Giants 38, Bucs 30
All stats courtesy of NFL.com.
Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.
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