There are reasons to be nervous, but not enough to bet against Tom Brady

This is the type of game that Tom Brady wins… right?

Tampa Bay has a bunch of guys coming back and is playing at home where the Bucs have one loss on the year, and where Brady has a career record of 21-4.

It all adds up, doesn’t it?

So why do I feel so uneasy about this pick?

The Bucs should take this, with Playoff Lenny playing his first game of this year’s postseason and the only other major injury being Chris Godwin (who unfortunately might’ve played his last down in a Buc uniform following an ACL tear).

Pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul is expected to go, as is offensive lineman Ryan Jensen; offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs and linebacker David are listed as questionable, but my guess is that neither will want to be kept off the field either.

Hell, the Rams even have their veteran starting left tackle, Andrew Whitworth, out with a knee injury.

So why do I still feel so uneasy about this pick?

Maybe it’s the ghosts of that Week 3 loss, where the Bucs fell 34-24 on the road to these same Rams. The Bucs didn’t play well that game, but they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers. They just got outplayed.

Perhaps it’s because the Bucs no longer have that loaded receiving corps, with just Mike Evans and Gronk remaining from their original starters.

Regardless, with the Rams coming off a solid victory over the Cardinals last week and a stellar end to the season (5-1 in their last 6 games of the regular season) there is reason to be nervous.

But not enough to bet against TB12. The Bucs should win, 27-21.

If I’m wrong though, and the Rams manage to take the Bucs down in both stadiums, I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised. The Rams are a quality football team with stars all over the field. Cooper Kupp had the best season of any receiver in football, and there’s obviously that ridiculous dude on the other side of the football, Aaron Donald, the most talented defender of the past 20 years.

This might be the game of the weekend, a considerable accomplishment considering how good yesterday was (bye Aaron Rodgers)

But who knows, I could be proven completely wrong (wouldn’t be the first time, certainly won’t be the last) and the Bucs could be up by three possessions by halftime.

It’ll probably be a close game, and that’s all you can really ask for out of the Bucs, right?

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This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2022.