Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds previews the upcoming Bucks game with six quick-hit topics. What’s at stake for the Bucs and their opponents, what could lead to a win or loss for Tampa Bay, and some key matchups to watch each week.
The Bucks improved to 4-2 on the season with an impressive 51-27 road victory over the Saints in New Orleans. Tampa Bay will take a break from divisional play and play a Monday Night Football home game against the 4-2 Baltimore Ravens before hosting Atlanta in Week 8.
What’s at stake for the Bucks?
Bucs OLB YaYa Diaby – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Tampa Bay pulled off a surprising come-from-behind win against New Orleans last week, dominating in the second half 27-0 and contributing to the team’s first NFC South victory of the year. The Bucks will now face their biggest test of the year against the 4-2 Ravens, one of the top teams in the league and a strong Super Bowl contender. The Bucks passed such a test in Week 2, playing another elite team and winning 20-16 in Detroit. It will be an even bigger challenge for Tampa Bay on both sides of the ball, as Baltimore dominates the line of scrimmage offensively and defensively.
This is another measuring stick game for the Bucks to measure their progress this year as the team strives to become an early Super Bowl contender. If the Bucks can continue their good run and win this game, they will definitely improve in the eyes of the national media, but more importantly, they will have a rematch with the Falcons next week and a rematch with an NFL powerhouse like the Chiefs. It’s about having confidence in the future. And then the 49ers.
The game will be broadcast on national television, but it hasn’t been a stage where the Bucks have always shined lately. Will this young Bucs team be able to live up to the success it had from the blowout victory over the Saints and continue to rack up wins? Or will Tampa Bay be able to match the success the team has won, lost, won over the past five weeks? Will it continue its recent trend of losing? Good teams finish above .500. Great teams learn how to go on a run and finish well above .500. The outcome of this game will play a role in determining whether Todd Bowles’ squad is a good team, or perhaps even a great one.
What’s at stake for the Ravens?
Former Bucs ILB Devin White and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo courtesy of USA Today
After a shaky start with an 0-2 record, Baltimore found its footing with four straight wins. However, it’s worth noting that the Ravens lost their first two games by a combined 10 points and came very close to tying or winning the season opener against the Chiefs in Kansas City. After a close win in Dallas, Baltimore beat Buffalo and won two tough games against Cincinnati and Washington. The Ravens are on a roll right now and are looking to continue that momentum and remain one of the most feared teams in the NFL.
Baltimore is a balanced team that can dominate defensively, as they held Buffalo to 10 points, and can score 30 or more points on offense in each of the last three games. The Ravens are well-coached by John Harbaugh, who has a wealth of experience and is a great game manager from the sidelines. Baltimore currently leads Pittsburgh with a 4-2 lead in the AFC North and needs a win to prevent the Steelers from taking an early advantage in the division race.
This game will be a challenge for the Ravens, as Tampa Bay is the second-best team behind Baltimore over the past three weeks. And the Bucs’ run defense is getting stingier by the week. Tampa Bay aims to be a team like Baltimore that can run and throw at will, but also a team that can shut down the run and then unleash a dangerous pass rush. It’s up to the Ravens to make sure that doesn’t happen on Monday Night Football.
If the Bucks win…
Bucks RB Bucky Irving – Photo courtesy of USA Today
This game will come down to trench warfare and tackling for the Bucks. Offensively, can Tampa Bay get their ground game going against the league’s top run defense? Will the Bucs’ running backs be as elusive as they were in New Orleans, able to slip tackles, miss tackles and outrun defenders? Can Tampa Bay’s offense hold up in pass protection as well as run blocking? If the Bucs can establish some semblance of a ground game and bring some balance to Liam’s offense, they should be able to keep the Ravens defense guessing and open things up for Baker Mayfield with play-action passes.
Defensively, the Bucs have lost two games this year, and the common thread in their losses to the Broncos and Falcons was poor tackling. The elusiveness of Lamar Jackson, the best scrambling quarterback of this generation, and the ferocious running style of running back Derrick Henry present equal and different challenges for Todd Bowles’ defense. It’s huge for a defender to beat both of them as soon as he makes a move on one. Maintaining gap discipline and gang tackling is critical to Tampa Bay’s defense.
Todd Bowles needs to coach better than, or at least as well as, John Harbaugh in this game from a game management standpoint. This means proper tuning, use of timeouts, and clock management. These are areas that Bowles has struggled with several times in the past, and even this season he lost in Week 3 against Denver, coached by Sean Payton. But Bowles has made some progress in certain areas, which showed last week against Dennis Allen in New Orleans, against Dan Campbell in Detroit, and against Dan Quinn in the season opener against Washington. was.
If the Ravens win…
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo courtesy of USA Today
The Ravens are on a roll, winning four straight, with a strong run game and run defense. Baltimore is outscoring opponents by an average of 150 yards per game and leads the NFL with an average of 205.3 yards per game. The Ravens’ run defense is allowing an average of just 59 yards per game, which is also tops in the league. Most teams don’t even try to run against Baltimore because it’s now much easier to throw the ball. The Ravens don’t blitz as much on early downs, giving up quite a bit of yards, allowing an average of 275.7 yards per game through the air.
Lamar Jackson is having an NFL MVP-caliber season so far. He completed 67% of his passes for 1,529 yards, 10 touchdowns, and only two interceptions. He also recorded 403 rushing yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Derrick Henry has nearly 2,000 yards and is the league’s leading rusher with 704 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging nearly six yards per game. This tandem has been hard to break over the last four games, and if Jackson and Henry continue to shine on the field on Monday Night Football, Baltimore could win five in a row.
Getting off to a quick start will be key for the Ravens. Taking an early lead on the road helps keep Baltimore’s ground game at the forefront. Tampa Bay has started each of its last three games with a touchdown drive on its first possession, and a 17-0 lead against New Orleans last year was the springboard for the team’s 51-27 victory. Getting an early lead against the Bucks will likely be the key for the Ravens to win this game.
Key matchups for the Bucks’ offense
Bucks O-line vs. Ravens Front 7
Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
Bucs right tackle Luke Goedeke returned last week after missing four games with a concussion in the season opener. Although he looked a little rusty, he helped the Bucs gain 594 yards of total offense, including 277 on the ground in the win over New Orleans. Goedeke and the Bucs’ offensive line don’t have to pave the way for 200 yards rushing against the league’s top run defense, but generating 100 yards on the ground against such a stingy unit. could help make the team’s play-action passing more effective and could also maintain balance on the offensive end.
The Ravens aren’t just good at stopping runs. They’re also good at targeting quarterbacks, with 19 sacks this year, two more than the Bucs’ defense has produced. Baltimore is led by 33-year-old edge rusher Kyle Van Noy. He has six sacks this year and is coming off a season in which he had nine sacks a year ago. He and Odafe Oweh, who has 3.5 sacks, form an effective one-two punch on the outside, while Ndamdi Madubuike, who has two sacks, pushes the pocket from the inside.
Madubuike is difficult to deal with on the inside, so based on his experience, Robert Hainsey may continue to play center. Rookie center Graham Burton missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury, but even if he is healthy enough to return, Hainsey may be a better fit to man Baltimore’s defense. Ravens inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Trenton Simpson have speed and physicality and will be a challenge as blitzers and run stuffers. If the Bucks can win the battle in the trenches offensively, they have a great chance of defeating the Ravens.
Key matchups for the Bucks’ defense
Bucks DT Vita Vea vs. Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum
Bucks NT Vita Baer and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR
There are a lot of potential interesting matchups between the Bucs defense and Ravens offense. But the heavyweight battle between Tampa Bay defensive tackle Vita Vea and Baltimore center Tyler Linderbaum is must-see on TV. Although Baer has lost some weight this year, he is in great shape and remains a strong force. He is coming off a Pro Bowl-caliber season this year, recording three sacks, including one in each of his last three games. The last time the teams met in Tampa Bay on Thursday night in 2022, Baer was one of the Bucs to sack Lamar Jackson.
Linderbaum is a former first-round pick and an immediate pick in the 2022 draft. In his first matchup against Tampa Bay in 2022, he embarrassed former Bucs inside linebacker Devin White several times, forcing him way down the field and out of play. He had his hands full in the first matchup against the Bears, giving up a sack and a pressure. But Linderbaum has become one of the league’s best centers since his rookie season, earning his first Pro Bowl appearance last year.
With an 89.5 overall grade, Linderbaum is the Ravens’ second-highest graded offensive player behind Derrick Henry (90.9), according to Pro Football Reference. His 89.9 run-blocking grade is elite, as Linderbaum drives the Ravens’ run game between the tackles and runs outside on pull plays. Vea has a 68.8 overall grade, but he’s playing better than PFF suggests. The winner of this matchup could decide whether the Tampa Bay defense or Baltimore offense wins in the trenches Monday night.
