NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Sunday, Oct. 25, 1:00 p.m., FOX
Stadium: FedEx Field, Landover, MD
Current Line: Washington (-3) via Oddsshark.com
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel up to face the Washington Redskins on a pretty good high. Two weeks ago, they pulled off a solid win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then spent last week’s bye recharging the batteries.
Jameis Winston certainly put in a solid game, but it was running back Doug Martin who stole the show with 158 total yards and three touchdowns. As up and down as Winston’s been, Martin has been literally carrying the Buccaneers’ offense on his shoulders. Week 5 belonged to Martin, and this could be the week when Winston clicks again with Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson.
Defensively, the Buccaneers are sort of an enigma. While they’re ranked fifth in the league in total yards allowed and tied for eighth in sacks, they’re also just above the bottom of the league with 29.6 points allowed per game. But that’s not entirely their fault — Winston and his turnovers haven’t done the defense any favors. It certainly stands to reason that a more consistent Winston will help jack that ranking up.
Meanwhile, the Redskins are beaten and facing a must-win game at home. Offensively, the Redskins will probably be without their best receiver in DeSean Jackson, although it appears Jordan Reed will finally make his way back to playing. Trent Williams and Kory Lichtensteiger are probably out as well, which makes life incredibly more difficult for the ground game as well as Kirk Cousins. Cousins is already having a hard enough time on his own, with more picks than touchdowns and a 77.4 QB rating so far. In all reality, Cousins should be benched, but the Redskins simply don’t have anyone better to replace him.
Their defense hasn’t fared much better. The solid rushing defense Washington enjoyed early on hasn’t shown up the past two games, where they’ve been gashed by Chris Ivory and Devonta Freeman on outside zone runs to the tune of 397 yards. Chris Culliver, Stephen Paea and Jason Hatcher are banged up as well; even if they play they won’t be 100 percent.
In the end, I think this game is going to depend on whether or not Winston and the Buccaneers can take it over. The Redskins are getting beaten physically across the board, and the Buccaneers should feed Martin the ball early and often to test that struggling run defense. If they can get something going offensively, I don’t think Washington will be able to keep up. The Redskins are just too cold while Tampa is significantly hotter, and I think that continues through this week.
Prediction: Buccaneers 27, Redskins 13
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