Publisher and Bucs Beat Writer Scott Reynolds
There is an easy recipe for the Bucs to snap a two-game losing streak and beat the Redskins on Sunday. It starts with Tampa Bay’s defensive line dominating upfront. Washington will likely have four new starters along the offensive line because its two starting guards – Brandon Scherff and Brandon Lauvao – were placed on injured reserve after Sunday’s loss at Atlanta. Stopping Adrian Peterson and the Redskins running game will be paramount, and the Bucs will need defensive tackles Vita Vea, Gerald McCoy and Beau Allen to be more productive than they’ve been thus far this season.

Washington won’t be testing the middle of the defense too much, instead testing Tampa Bay’s perimeter on the flanks with off-tackle plays. The Bucs defense will need to do a better job of setting the edge and spilling plays back inside. That means defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul and Carl Nassib, who will start for the injured Vinny Curry, and linebackers Davonte Bond and Lavonte David.

Look for Redskins head coach Jay Gruden to watch the Carolina tape and come with some misdirection plays. Alex Smith is a mobile quarterback. They will use tight end Jordan Reed and wide receiver Jamison Crowder in space to complement Peterson, who could also attack the perimeter on swing passes out of the backfield. The Bucs defense has to play assignment football and be sound with tackling.

Stop the run, and overwhelm the Redskins’ replacement offensive line by rushing the passer.

Washington’s defensive line is very stout. It might be pointless to try to run the ball more than 20 times because the Redskins can be beaten through the air. Expect a bounce-back game from Mike Evans, who will be matched-up with top cover corner Josh Norman, but DeSean Jackson is really the one to watch. He will want to have a big game against his former team, just as he did in Week 2 against Philadelphia, where he spent the first six years of his NFL career.

As long as the Bucs offensive line can hold up for Ryan Fitzpatrick to throw some deep shots to Jackson and tight end O.J. Howard, who can’t be covered, the Bucs should be able to get an early lead and win on Sunday. Of course some takeaways by Tampa Bay’s defense, which hasn’t had one in the last five games, would be nice.
Reynolds’ Score Prediction: Buccaneers 30, Redskins 24
Reynolds’ Pick-To-Click: WR DeSean Jackson

Editor and Bucs Beat Writer Mark Cook
Eight games to go, and the Bucs need to find at least four wins to keep the band together.

This is one of those wins. Or should be. But if this one gets ugly like the Panthers game did(at least early on) and the Bears game, go ahead and chalk this up as a 3-13 season. It is about the get really ugly with a loss.

The good news is, this game is a home game. So far this season the Bucs have played fairly well inside the comforts of Raymond James. Maybe that pirate ship’s cannons really do scare teams? Well okay maybe not. But the team does seem to play better, particularly on defense(minus the Steelers) and just by being home I think the Bucs play a lot different than last week against the Panthers. This is a wounded, embarrassed defense that I believe, if nothing else, will come out playing very hard. At this point, you want to see who is giving maximum effort with your team two games under .500 and a season on the brink of slipping away. For this coaching staff or a new one that could be in the building next January. As Warren Sapp used to say, “The eye is the sky don’t lie.”

I could sit here and spell out all the matchups and reasons why the Bucs should have an advantage in one department or another and vice versa with the Redskins. But I will spare you. It is Saturday and most fans are just ready for the game.

So in summary, the Bucs jump out early, DeSean Jackson haunts his former team, Alex Smith gets hot, the Bucs defense struggles, but Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the Bucs on a late fourth quarter drive and finds O.J. Howard for a late touchdown pass the win it.

There is one win, not go find three more.
Cook’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 28, Redskins 24
Cook’s Pick-To-Click: WR DeSean Jackson

PewterReport.com Intern Taylor Jenkins
As the Washington Redskins travel to Tampa this weekend the biggest story looming over the game is the injuries that have riddled the Redskins’ offensive line.

With both starting offensive guards – Shawn Lauvao and Brandon Scherff – suffering season-ending injuries last week, and offensive tackles Trent Williams (thumb) and Morgan Moses (knee) dealing with injuries of their own, Washington has had to bring in three new offensive linemen this week.

WR Paul Richardson – a big off-season signing for Washington – has also suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

Trying to put together a makeshift offensive line in just a week could leave Washington struggling to both run the ball and protect Alex Smith, something the Bucs’ defense has to be thanking their lucky stars for.

Sometimes all a defense needs is a chance to play free and make some plays for them to get on a roll.

In 2016 – coming off of a divisional loss in which the Buccaneers gave up over 40 points to put them at 3-5 on the season – the Bucs took on an ailing Bears team in week 10.

The Bucs’ defense surrendered just 10 points and 283 total yards of offense while forcing four turnovers and holding the Bears to just two third down conversions on 11 attempts.

That game was a spark that led the Bucs to a five-game winning streak, a 9-7 season record and a defense that allowed just 12.8 points per game over that five game span after surrendering 29 points per game through the season’s first eight games.

I’m not calling this 2016. Alex Smith isn’t Jay Cutler, This Bucs’ defense won’t suddenly become the league’s standard for forcing turnovers and I don’t predict the Bucs to make the same kind of run they did two years ago, but it’s only eight games into a long NFL season and there is plenty of time for things to change.

The Redskins are a run-first offense and the absence of Vinny Curry won’t help the Bucs’ cause; the Redskins rank 10^th in the NFL with 121.9 rushing yards per game.

The Redskins have had less than 80 yards rushing in all three of their losses this season and have rushed for at least 130 yards in each of their five wins, so stopping their ground game will be key, but if the Bucs’ defensive line can’t get after Smith and give their secondary some much-needed help, the Redskins could very well score at will. We’ve all seen that happen numerous times this season and despite only averaging 222 passing yards per game, with a quarterback like Smith who’s historically safe with the ball, there’s nothing that indicates it couldn’t happen again.

The key on offense for the Bucs will be consistency. As bad as the defense has been, the offense knows there is even more pressure on them to put points on the board and they can’t start slow. Ryan Fitzpatrick will have to lead the charge and not allow the defense dig the team into an early hole, should Washington come out firing.
Jenkins’ Score Prediction: Buccaneers 33, Redskins 23
Jenkins’ Pick-To-Click: DT Gerald McCoy

PewterReport.com Intern Matt Matera
This is the last straw for the Bucs if they have any imagination of making the playoffs. Playing against a 5-3 divisional leader would normally look like a doom and gloom matchup, but there is some hope for the Bucs.

The Redskins are ravaged by injury, particularly at the offensive line positions. The Bucs defense has looked helpless through eight games, but if there’s any time to turn their chances around, it’s right now against a line they should be able to take advantage of. The defense hasn’t given any reason to believe that they can stop anyone, yet the Bucs have been within one score in the fourth quarter of every game they’ve been in except for one.

Most of the problems have come in the secondary, so Tampa lucks out playing against a run heavy team like Washington, led by Adrian Peterson. The Bucs are 15th in yards against the run, which is nothing to take home about, and the Redskins will certainly look to exploit a weak Bucs pass defense, but taking to this game at home might just be what gives Tampa an edge. Playing at home does something for NFL teams, and the Bucs are 2-1 so far.

Mike Evans had a rough game last week at Carolina, and it doesn’t get easier going up against Josh Norman. Evans is still an elite receiver though, and a bounce back would not come as a surprise. Besides that, the Redskins have one of the best defenses in the league, much like Carolina did, and the Bucs never looked comfortable on offense last week even with putting up 28 points. The major problem for that was the number of sacks let up, but head coach Dirk Koetter said that was communication errors, not being overmatched physically. We’ll see if those errors get corrected this week.

Players such as Adam Humphries, Jacquizz Rodgers, and O.J. Howard picked up the slack last week with Evans being tied up. That’s the beauty of this Bucs offense, there’s someone who can take the reigns each week. Maybe it’s Chris Godwin or DeSean Jackson this time on Sunday, but surely someone will. Tampa has no other choice but to put up a game in which both sides of the ball compliment each other. I think they do just enough to get the win.
Matera’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 30, Redskins 26
Matera’s Pick-To-Click: WR Mike Evans