Mission: San Diego Chargers

I'm not going to keep reiterating how important this game is for the Bucs. It would seem as if they had an easy week this week, but the Chargers are no cake-walk. The Bucs need to win, and they need losses by Dallas and Atlanta or Philadelphia in order to find themselves in the playoffs. This game is important, no doubt. I'm not going to wear myself out with the reminder of the importance of this game. Instead, I'm going to say that I am very disappointed with the NFL in their decision to bump this game out of the Sunday Night spot this week. In their flex week, the league chose this game for Sunday Night Football, but then decided to drop this game from the slate, and instead put the Panthers/Giants game on. Yes, it is an important game as well, but they made the decision already, and they should stick by it. Hopefully the Bucs can prove that the league made the wrong decision, and find themselves in the playoffs. But that also means rooting for the Ravens, Vikings, Redskins, and just for fun, the Giants. The Chargers have definitely disappointed this year. Once Super Bowl favorites, they are out of the playoffs and two games under .500. They may be underachieving, but they are still very much a dangerous team. They are led largely by Philip Rivers, who has had an extraordinary season. The passing game is ranked 7th in the league. Then there's LaDainian Tomlinson, who has had a rough year. The rushing game is ranked 27th in the league, but Tomlinson is poised to break out at any time. Rivers biggest target is Vincent Jackson, who is closing in on 1,000 yards this year, but is questionable this week with a concussion. Combined, their offense ranks 7th in the league in points per game, and 14th in total yards. Their biggest problem has been their defense, which is ranked 16th in points allowed, 25th in total yards, and is ranked 12th against the rush, and 31st against the pass. They have faced some tough competition, but they have also lost against lesser opponents. Key Matchup:Bucs Defense vs. Philip RiversThe easy way to go here would be to say that LaDainian Tomlinson is the biggest threat for the Bucs. They've had a few tough weeks against the run, and LT is LT. But Tomlinson hasn't been the X-Factor that he once was. Instead, Rivers has taken control of this team. Rivers is one of the top QB's in the league in passing yards and touchdowns. He has 28 touchdowns this year, which is a career best. He also has a career best in passing yards. In the past four games, Rivers has thrown 7 touchdowns to only 1 interception. Rivers has never played against the Bucs, but has a 99.5 quarterback rating against the NFC South, and has thrown 6 touchdowns to 1 interception against them in 4 career games. Rivers doesn't crack under pressure, and has the ability to make the big play when it matters.The Bucs haven't really had a problem against the pass this year. They haven't allowed anyone to pass for 300 yards or more against them. They've faced some good quarterbacks, and they've held the majority of them in check. Philip Rivers is a man who led his team to the AFC Championship game last year, and could have won, had it not been for a torn ACL. Rivers is now healed, and is playing some of the best football of his career. While they will be putting a lot of focus on Tomlinson, it is Rivers that they need to worry about. Every game that they have won, they have won because of Rivers. It's not fair to say that every game they've lost they've lost because of him, but his play certainly affected the outcome. Nevertheless, Rivers is one dangerous player. The Bucs ego is probably still hurting from the past two weeks, so they could be vulnerable. Either that, or they are royally pissed from what they've had to go through. One way or another, Rivers is going to be a big part of the outcome of this game. The Bucs offensive rankings have really fallen over the past two weeks. They rank 19th in points per game, 13th in total yards, 13th in rushing yards, and 12th in passing yards. The offense also ranks 10th in first downs passing, 9th in fourth down conversions, 7th in total passing plays, and 5th in total offensive plays. Jeff Garcia's status for this week is still uncertain. The Bucs are not a bad offensive team, but last week they couldn't get anything going. The defense, while still good, has also taken a little bit of a hit. They are ranked 5th in points per game allowed and 9th in total yards allowed. They are a dismal 20th against the run, but are a fantastic 3rd against the pass, which looks good for this week. They also rank 4th in defensive touchdowns, and 3rd in interceptions. If I keep talking about how important this game is, I would feel long-winded. I want to keep this short and sweet. The Bucs need to win. That's it. The Bucs have to win out the rest of the season in order to make the playoffs. Yes, other teams need to lose, but the most important thing is that the Bucs have to win. At this point, they control their own destiny. It's that simple. Win, and you're in. Lose, and you're probably going home. The Bucs have two lesser opponents in the coming weeks, but anything can happen. No win is ever guaranteed.