The Bucs are in the playoffs. They will play their first playoff game in over a decade this Saturday against the Washington Football Team and will potentially be without some key players.
Linebacker Devin White is still on the COVID-19 list and will be out until at least Sunday, while record-breaking wideout Mike Evans went down with a knee injury this past Sunday against the Falcons while trying to catch a touchdown. Cornerack Carlton Davis is also still dealing with a groin injury that kept him out of the Bucs’ final two games of the season.
Both Evans and Davis are questionable for Saturday’s matchup, but Davis returned to practice Wednesday, making his return for Saturday a little more likely. Don’t count Evans out, though. He’s a game-time decision and has been wanting to show off on the big stage for a while now. Many expect him to play through his knee injury in his first playoff game.
With or without Evans, this Buccaneer offense is rolling. Tom Brady has looked like himself, and the guys he’s throwing to look pretty good, too—with Evans is there or not. Antonio Brown has started to hit his stride, racking up touchdowns and big-time plays, Chris Godwin is as consistent as ever, and Gronk is still Gronk, trucking guys, making contested catches and filming those weird videos with TB12 during the week.
It’s important to note that this Washington team Tampa Bay going against has one of the best defenses in the league. Washington has spent four of its past five first round picks on defensive lineman, and the strategy is finally starting to pay off, as Washington is second in the NFL in both total defense and passing defense. The defense gets after quarterbacks and makes things really hard on offenses, applying pressure and making QBs nervous. If TB12 wants to continue to be successful in the postseason, he’s going to need to get rid of the ball quickly. He’s not facing the Lions or the Falcons anymore. He’s facing a real defense, and as his putrid performances against teams like the Saints and Rams have shown, he tends to struggle against those.
But, none of this matters. Washington’s offense is awful. Three of its best players on that side of the ball listed as questionable, including starting QB (and one of the better feel-good stories of this weird NFL season) Alex Smith. Washington’s starting running back Antonio Gibson and no. 1 wideout Terry McLaurin are the other two questionable guys, so assuming that Smith is good to go, he might be without one of those guys, or they might be limited in their roles. Even if the Bucs get shutdown offensively, assuming they manage not to turn into last year’s team and turn the ball over 20 times, Washington’s offense might not be able to get anything going.
Plus, did y’all see that pathetic excuse of a game Sunday night? Washington played the Philadelphia Eagles, and Philly could have easily won that game (and given the New York Giants the division, a much more favorable matchup for the Bucs), but instead they put in backup QB Nate Sudfeld (yeah I don’t know who he is either) and lost the game 20-14. I mean, Philly just conceded the entire fourth quarter, and Washington still only managed to win by six points. That should tell you not only how bad the NFC East is, or how awful the Eagles are going to be for the next 10 years because karma is a bitch, but it should really tell you just how bad Washington is offensively.
With all of that being said, the Bucs will win this game in a low-scoring affair, advancing to the second round after a 17-7 victory. I don’t have total confidence in this pick, as the Bucs have proven to be unable to deal with a competent pass rush, but I still think they pull it out. Look for the defense to create some turnovers and maybe even get a touchdown for itself.
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This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2021.
