Tampa Bay will travel cross-country for their second AFC West opponent, in as many weeks.

The last Tampa Bay Bucs‘ loss was all the way back on November 10th and while it’s been over a month since Bucs’ fans have felt anything but victory the team has instilled anything but confidence. Tampa is 3-0 post their bye week but the team’s three wins each have come against lesser opponents and aside from their contest against the New York Giants have been closer than you would like to see. The Bucs are now 7-6 and for the first time in over a calendar month that record will be put up against another team with a winning record in the Los Angeles Chargers. So—

How can the Bucs win this game?

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images

Do what they do best. Tampa Bay has not been one dimensional the last few games, but it feels like their success has been. Since the bye week, the Bucs have played three games. They’ve run the ball for nearly 550 yards in those three games (averaging over 180 yards per game).

Those stats, might lead you to believe that the Bucs have been lining up and pounding the rock, however, the contradiction to that notion is the fact that Baker Mayfield has averaged more than 30 passes per game since the bye week— Mayfield has thrown four touchdowns; he’s also tossed four interceptions.

Considering Tampa’s offense has had difficulty with sacks allowed (8 over the last two weeks) and that the Bucs haved flexed the depth of three quality running backs this season, having Baker Mayfield heave 30-plus passes per game may not be the proper approach.

Liam Coen’s gameplan should reflect his team’s backfield depth. Tampa’s offense is capable of putting up points— That has been proven. The Bucs’ offense had scored at least 24 points in eight of their last nine contests heading into last Sunday and, against the Las Vegas Raiders, they scored another 28— even with a three turnover outing from their quarterback.

For the sake of Tampa’s season, Liam Coen needs to commit to his run game. The Bucs have shown they can run the ball whenever they want to and that running the ball may be a better approach than allowing their banged up quarterback to try and lead the team to victory with his banged up receiving corp.

For the Bucs, this game and the rest of this season can be simple— Lean into your strength.

How can the Bucs lose this game?

Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Let their injuries show. Every team has injuries in December, but the Bucs have a depth chart of injuries. Tampa has dealt with a remarkable amount of injuries this entire season. As the year winds down, the team hasn’t changed its stripes. From backups becoming starters, to starters returning, only to sustain new injuries, paving the way for different backups, following injuries to the previous backups— The Bucs have had a lot of different Tampa Bay Bucs suit up in 2024. Tampa’s troubles this season, cannot all be explained away by injuries and pointing the finger at health is little more than an excuse. That means this Sunday the Bucs will need to continue to do what they’ve had to do all season— Play the guys who are healthy and rely on the deepest parts of their roster to make plays in game and ultimately season-deciding moments.

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