J.T Olsen
Bucs Report – Special to Sports Talk Florida
This week the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take center stage on Monday night football. They will play host to another team with Super Bowl aspirations in the Baltimore Ravens. This sets up as an excellent prime time matchup between two of the best teams in the NFL.
Just like the Bucs, the Ravens enter this game with a 4-2 record. They enter this game as one of the hottest teams in the NFL having won four in a row after an 0-2 start. It won’t be easy to take down these birds, but that’s what the Bucs will try to do.
While I would say these teams are close in overall talent, there are matchups that will swing the game in one direction or the other. Here are my week seven Skeleton Keys to victory.
Contain Lamar Jackson
Lamar Jackson is the greatest dual threat quarterback in the history of the NFL. The two time MVP has turned himself into an efficient passer and currently has 10 touchdown passes to just 2 interceptions. He set a career high in passing yards last season with 3,678 and is currently on pace to beat that mark this year.
Of course, this isn’t what makes Jackson special. In fact, compared to most quarterbacks these numbers are fairly pedestrian. It’s his ability to run the ball that makes him one of the most dangerous players in the game today.
Jackson has gone over 1,000 rushing yards twice in his first six seasons and is on pace to do so again in 2024. He has game changing speed and is a threat to break a big run on any given play. Keeping him in the pocket and making Jackson light up the scoreboard with just his arm will be the biggest key in this game.
Air It Out
The Ravens have always been known for dominating defenses, much like the Bucs. With the likes of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed having won Super Bowls in the past and the likes of Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith and Nnamdi Madubuike it’s only natural to associate great defense with this franchise. However, that is currently more perception than reality.
Currently, the Ravens rank 31st in passing yards allowed and 28th in touchdown passes allowed. They have given up big yards to both wide receivers and tight ends alike. This is surprising considering the big name players they have in the secondary such as Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey.
This is something that the Bucs should be able to take advantage of. If Ja’Marr Chase can go for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns then there’s no reason that Mike Evans can’t too (assuming he’s healthy). Tampa Bay is one of the best offenses in the NFL right now and they lead the league in passing touchdowns, so this should be a big advantage for the Bucs.
If You Take A Shot At The King Then You Better Not Miss
Offensively the Ravens are tied with the Buccaneers for total touchdowns. And while the Buccaneers are built around throwing the ball around to their many playmakers, the Ravens bring the NFL’s most impressive running attack. This includes Lamar Jackson, as previously mentioned, but he is just a part of that.
Future Hall of Fame running back Derrick Henry is truly a freak of nature. He’s 6’2 and nearly 250 lbs and he runs away from defenders when he builds up a head of steam. On top of that, despite being in his early 30’s and leading the league in carries four times in his career he is showing no signs of slowing down.
Henry leads the NFL in both rushing yards (704) and rushing touchdowns (8). He plays off Jackson incredibly well in that backfield and they are bringing out the best in each other. He is the biggest weapon in this game and he has to be accounted for at all times.
The Bucs have gone against Henry twice in his career. Once in 2019 when he led the league in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns where he went for 75 yards on 16 carries and last year when he had 24 yards on 11 carries. Todd Bowles has proven he knows how to handle him in the past, but this time around it is expected to be a different animal.
Overall
The name of the game is contain this week. Bottling up the rushing attack of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry is priority one, two, three and four. Other than that, you live with the damage that this Baltimore offense can do.
Offensively, the Buccaneers just need to play their game. The Ravens don’t force a lot of turnovers and the approach of passing to open up the run should work fairly well. It’s a heavyweight fight between two electric offenses and both are looking for their talented defense to make just enough plays.
Prediction
Ravens – 30
Bucs – 31
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