Last week it was Mike Evans, this week it’s Chris Godwin.
Godwin entered concussion protocol this Wednesday after taking a big hit to the head during Sunday’s game versus the Saints. The former Penn State man apparently seemed fine Monday and Tuesday but showed symptoms Wednesday at practice. This will make him at least questionable for Sunday’s game against the Panthers, but more than likely he’ll be (as Mike Evans was last week) listed as doubtful.
The star receiver took a big hit from Saints safety D.J. Swearinger, but stayed in the game after walking off the field on his own. Godwin racked up six catches for 79 yards in the loss and is coming off a 1,000-yard season last year. He is expected to be one of the many elite targets for TB12 this year and is scheduled to face an inexperienced Panthers secondary this Sunday that gave up 239 yards through the air to Las Vegas Raider QB Derek Carr.
Godwin would certainly be missed against Carolina, but expect the Bucs to still light up the scoreboard against a defense that lost star linebacker Luke Kuechely to retirement this offseason (and still gave up the second most points in the NFL last season with the former All-Pro out there).
The Panthers also gave up three rushing TD’s last week to the Raiders’ star running back Josh Jacobs, so you can also expect the Bucs to lean on running backs Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones, who got off to pedestrian starts against a stout Saints run defense (neither averaged more than 3.9 yards a carry). Given, neither Jones nor Fournette are Josh Jacobs (Jacobs racked up 1,150 yards rushing as a rookie last year for the Raiders), but Fournette had an incredibly productive year last year and was still settling into the Bucs’ offense.
Without Godwin in the lineup, expect Brady to continue to target Scot Miller and tight end OJ Howard. Gronk was pretty much a non-factor against New Orleans, so hopefully he can get going as well (he is making $9 million).
Going without Godwin would be a big loss, but luckily the Panthers’ defense is much more suspect than the Saints', and the Bucs will have the comfort of playing at Raymond James Stadium, although the Bucs will not be allowing any fans to attend the first two home games of the 2020 season.
The Bucs will rebound and take a victory at home, 24-20. The Panthers are an underrated team, but their defense is going to be shredded by Tom Brady and the Bucs’ excellent offensive coordinator, Byron Leftwich. Expect for Brady to throw for 300+ yards and a pair of touchdowns, with Leonard Fournette exploding for 120-plus yards from scrimmage with a rushing touchdown.
If I’m wrong? The Bucs will need to take a look in the mirror and see what needs to be changed. Because these are the games they need to win if they are to become a playoff team.
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This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2020.