But fear not. It’s one game. And with the Bucs’ signing of cornerback Richard Sherman this week, at least they aren’t sitting on their hands and letting this awful defense get worse.
This Sunday night the Bucs will have a chance to show the league that they’re still the defending champs, when TB12 will face his former team the New England Patriots for the first time since leaving before last season.
The Bucs should blow the Pats out of the water, 35-17. The Patriots lack the pass rush to disrupt the GOAT, and Brady is probably pretty heated over losing to the Rams in such an embarrassing fashion last week.
However, the big question mark will be how this defense bounces back. They will get an incredibly favorable matchup, as rookie QB Mac Jones is pretty much what you’d get if you took all of Tom Brady and Drew Brees’ worst traits (lack of athleticism and arm strength) and said “Screw it, let’s see what happens.”
I don’t see Jones having much success in the league against anyone with the weapons (or lack thereof) he has.
Even the Bucs’ horrendous pass defense shouldn’t have a problem containing this dull, unproductive Patriots offense. New England is in the bottom-10 of the league in nearly every major offensive category, including rushing and passing yards per game and points per game.
Then again, it’s the Bucs. Their secondary could end up making Jakobi Meyers look like prime Randy Moss. I suppose I shouldn’t count out the idea of Jones throwing for 350 yards and 4 TD’s.
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This article appears in Sep 30 – Oct 7, 2021.