Pewter Pirate Predictions: Buccaneers vs Rams

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to right the ships this weekend. This week they play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. It’s a clash between division leaders in a game that I expect to be a playoff preview. 

This will be as difficult of a game as the Bucs have faced all year. Winning this matchup will take their best effort. However, I have no doubt that they are capable of winning this uphill battle.

While there are a lot of different scenarios that could play out, I have my own expectations of what we will see on Sunday. Here are my week twelve Pewter Pirate Predictions.

More Morrison

There is a good chance that star cornerback Jamel Dean will not play in this game. That means that we will see more of rookie cornerback Benjamin Morrison who will likely start in his place. That was the case last week when Dean went down on the first drive of the game.

Overall, Morrison has been good in limited action this year. Todd Bowles has wanted to bring him along slowly and has done a good job rotating Morrison in and out to get him experience at the NFL level. This week we will see how much that will pay off.

Many fans are coming into this game frustrated with Morrison. He gave up a big touchdown last week on a play that he really should have been in position to defend. He also gave up a long touchdown vs the Patriots, but that was more a case of a great throw against tight coverage so it’s hard to blame Morrison too much for that one.

Now as Morrison moves into the starting lineup, I believe we will hear his name a lot on Sunday. There is no doubt that the Rams will target the rookie early and often. However, I am predicting that Morrison responds with an interception of Matthew Stafford who has only thrown two picks coming into this game.

Rattle Rams Run

The Rams aren’t an overpowering rushing offense. They rank 20th overall in rushing yard and they have the same average yards per carry as the Buccaneers who we know have struggled to run the ball this year. This is just not the strength of their team.

However, they have run for over 100 yards in each of the last three games. Running back Kyren Williams ranks in the top ten in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns this year. So while I wouldn’t call it a strength, I also wouldn’t call it a weakness either. 

The Buccaneers come into this game with the 9th best rushing defense in the NFL. They have had a few breakdowns in recent weeks that should get cleaned up against a less explosive running back. I am predicting that the Bucs defense holds Williams and the Rams rushing attack below 70 total rushing yards.

Two For One

The Rams defense does an excellent job of eliminating big plays. They are very disciplined and force defense to drive the length of the field. This is what the Bucs are going to have to do, especially considering their top three wide receivers are still injured going into this game.

That means running the ball and more of a dink and dunk offense in this game. That means it’s a game that should feature a lot of running back Rachaad White. He is not only a physical and elusive ball carrier, but also the Bucs best pass catching running back.

Getting White involved in the passing game will be important this week. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he needs to be the focal point of the offense right now. I am predicting that White gets not just one, but two touchdowns in this game.

Overall

This should be a pretty competitive game, but the Bucs will have to play their best game to keep up. It feels like it would be asking a lot to keep up with such a good team considering how short handed the Bucs still are.

Prediction

Buccaneers – 20
Rams – 27