Why Tampa Bay Will Win the NFC Divisional Round
Just how sure are you that what we saw against Arizona was for real?
Matthew Stafford might have been solid, but can he produce in the playoffs when he’s getting pressured by a defensive front that’s about to live in the backfield like Tampa Bay’s D will?
Can the offense work like it’s supposed to when the ground attack isn’t averaging 6.6 yards per carry like it did last week? It was fine in the first meeting when the running game was limited and didn’t bust off any big runs, but the Buccaneer run defense is third in the league – few teams run because everyone has to throw to keep up.
Can the Ram defense hang with a real passing game? It’s not like Arizona was bad throwing the ball – it was seventh in the NFL – but without DeAndre Hopkins, it didn’t have a Mike Evans, and Kyler Murray isn’t Tom Brady in the pocket.
Los Angeles got hit hard by the San Francisco passing attack in the Week 18 loss, it had a difficult time against Kirk Cousins and the Vikings in the Week 16 fight, and yeah, Murray and Arizona went off in Week 14 when it had Hopkins and used James Conner as a key part of the fun.
If Brady can go for 400 – if he needs to – like he did in the first meeting, the playoff version of the Buccaneer defense should be able to take care of the rest.
– What Will Happen, Prediction
– NFL Divisional Round Schedules, Predictions