It has been a long time since the Buccaneers have played on their home field. It’s been 49 days, to be exact, as the Bucs’ schedule took them on the road for five straight games, going to the exotic locales of Los Angeles, London, Nashville, New Orleans, and Seattle.
The Buccaneers are excited to finally be back home to take on an up-and-coming Arizona Cardinals team featuring the NFL’s No. 1 pick, quarterback Kyler Murray.
Tampa Bay returns home nursing a four-game losing streak. Their most recent defeat was a 40-34 overtime loss to the Seahawks. The Bucs will also be looking for their first win of the season at home. The Bucs are 0-2 in Tampa, but since the game in London was considered a home game, the Bucs are technically 0-3 at home.
The Cardinals come to Tampa Bay with a two-game losing streak and a 3-5-1 record.
The Cardinals feature one of the most exciting young stars in the NFL at quarterback in Kyler Murray, who has passed for 2,229 yards this season and has ran the ball for 313 yards, which is the best on the Cardinals’ team. Murray presents a different set of challenges for this Tampa defense as he is extremely dangerous once he gets outside the pocket.
One of the keys to winning this game for the Bucs will be to keep Murray in the pocket. Murray is similar in style of play to Russell Wilson in that when he gets outside the pocket, he can beat you with his legs. Murray also has at his disposal one of the best receivers to ever play the game in Larry Fitzgerald.
Vernon Hargreaves will have the challenge of going up against Fitzgerald, and just from a size standpoint, the smaller Hargreaves could have a tough time against the bigger Fitzgerald.
The Cardinals get running back David Johnson back for this game after sitting out the game against the 49ers. Johnson is averaging 3.9 yards per carry and will again be the featured back for the Cardinals.
Running back Kenyan Drake adds another dimension to this Arizona offense that they did not have before. Drake, picked up at the trade deadline from Miami, had a nice game against the 49ers, running for 115 yards and averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
The Bucs still have the No. 1 run defense in he NFL, giving up 70.8 yards on the ground, and have been able to shut down the top running backs that they have played against this season. It will be interesting to see how the Johnson and Drake duo will do against the Bucs’ defense.
The Cardinals’ defense ranks 30th in the NFL giving up 408 yards a game, but the defensive line boasts two of the premier linemen in the league in Chandler Jones and Terrell Suggs. Jones has 9.5 sacks on the season and this duo will pose some problems for the Bucs offensive line and Jameis Winston.
The Bucs’ offensive line has been a sieve all season, allowing Winston to be sacked 30 times, and this defensive line will try to get pressure on Winston and force him into making poor decisions with the ball.
This game has the potential to be a high-scoring affair as both teams have shown that they can put points on the board quickly.
The Bucs have the No. 4 scoring offense in the league, averaging 28.8 points per game, while the Cardinals are ranked 19th and are averaging 22 points a game.
Tight end O.J. Howard will be back for this game for the Bucs after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury. Cameron Brate, who had also been battling injuries, was a full participant at practice on Thursday and should be ready to go Sunday.
Ronald Jones gets his second start of the season at running back. Jones, who gained 82 yards passing and receiving in Seattle last week, will be going against a Cardinals defense that gives up 127 yards a game on the ground and 4.5 yards per carry.
The Mike Evans vs. Patrick Peterson matchup should be a good one. Evans is coming off two of the best games of his career with 23 catches for 378 yards and three touchdowns.
If you shut Evans down, Chris Godwin is waiting on the other side. Shut Godwin down, you have Evans waiting. You can’t double-team both. And if the Bucs ever figure out how to properly use Howard, this offense will be lethal.
This will be an entertaining game. The team that has the ball last could be in position to win the game.
With the Bucs playing at home for the first time in seven weeks, they have the edge.
Prediction: Buccaneers 34, Cardinals 31
