Tampa Bay Buccaneers hope to take advantage of Washington Redskins' struggles
TAMPA -- In what can be considered a crossroads game, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith seems to have a tailor-made opponent.
The matchup Sunday at Washington offers him a legitimate chance to reach the .500 mark for the first time since he took over the Bucs last season.
Washington has struggled stopping the run, and the Bucs prefer to keep it on the ground and make life easier for quarterback Jameis Winston.
Tampa Bay (2-3) won its two games when Winston did not throw an interception and his passing attempts were limited to 21 and 19.
But nothing has been easy for Smith and the Bucs.
In Smith's way of thinking, teams win by limiting turnovers, getting takeaways, being strong in red zone defense and keeping the score down. Unfortunately for him, Tampa is struggling in some of those areas.
The Bucs are next to last in red zone defense, allowing teams to score 74 percent of the time they get there and are next to last in points allowed per game (29.6 avg).
The Redskins (2-4) are coming off a 34-20 drubbing by the New York Jets in which they allowed Chris Ivory to rush for 146 yards.
They are also in a state of flux with a continuing soap opera involving Washington head coach Jay Gruden and his quarterback, Kirk Cousins.
Washington ranks 25th in yards per game and 28th in points. Cousins has a less-than-daunting passer rating of 77.4 with six touchdown passes and eight interceptions. It is expected he will be missing his top target, DeSean Jackson.
Both teams have running back duos that lead many to believe passing will not be a priority this game. The Bucs have Doug Martin and Charles Sims, and the Redskins like to tote the ball with Alfred Morris and Matt Jones.
Washington presents a big test for the Bucs' front four, which is so important to Smith's defensive scheme. Despite his less-than-pedestrian numbers, Cousins has been sacked only seven times, and the Redskins rank third in the NFL in least sacks allowed per play. Their offensive line has been rated the fourth best in the NFL in protecting the passer.
Washington leads the NFL in time per scoring drive, averaging 4:38 and is second in most plays per scoring drive with a mark of 9.57.
Bucs defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said he feels confident his unit can get to Cousins and make him uncomfortable.
Tampa prefers to rush only four. The Bucs ranks ninth in the NFL with 15 sacks. and Washington is 16th with 12. Both teams have only three interceptions apiece. The Bucs have forced nine fumbles. and Washington has eight forced fumbles.
"We've been pretty successful with our four-man rush, so you got to keep it going," Frazier said. "You have to be able to do some things that can help you rush like being able to stop the run and put people in predictable situations. It makes a difference. It's a big deal."
The Bucs expect to have cornerback Johnthan Banks back from a knee injury, but Frazier is not sure how effective he will be. If he plays it will likely cut down on Tim Jennings time. Mike Jenkins, the Southeast High and South Florida product, is expected to get a lot of minutes.
"Even though he (Banks) is cleared medically, can he really do all the things he was doing prior to his injury? We have to determine that," Frazier said. "It (his return) would be a boom for us. He's a good player and one of our guys we really kind of count on. Not having him really hurt our depth. We are playing a team that runs some three and four wide (receivers) at times, so it would help to have him back for sure."
The Bucs are hoping they can play keep-away with Doug Martin getting a lot of carries as he tries to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark for the third straight game. He will be going up against a Washington defense that has allowed an average of 118.2 rushing yards per game, which is the 10th most in the league. Sims is second on the team in receptions and receiver yards and has rushed 37 times.
"They complement each other perfectly," Smith said. "We feel real good about those two, but then also if (Doug) is out a little bit, you can say there's Bobby Rainey. If Bobby has to step in and take a more active role, he could do it. I'm very pleased with what we've gotten with our running backs."
Tampa would like to head into Atlanta next week at 3-3 with the Falcons and Giants next on their schedule. Washington would like to head into its bye week at 3-4, a lot better than 2-5.
This story was originally published October 25, 2015 at 12:09 AM with the headline "Tampa Bay Buccaneers hope to take advantage of Washington Redskins' struggles ."