It’s GAME DAY at Glory Days Grill – Come watch football all season long!
Bucs game day is approaching, and it’s time for the PewterReport.com staff to offer up its weekly game predictions.
Let us know what you think in the article comments section and add your prediction, too.
BUCCANEERS at COLTS
WHEN: Sunday, November 28, 2021 | WHERE: Lucas Oil Stadium | KICKOFF: 1:00 p.m. ET | TV: FOX
PLAY-BY-PLAY: Kevin Burkhardt |ANALYST: Greg Olsen | SIDELINE: Pam Oliver
RADIO: 98 ROCK 97.9 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Gene Deckerhoff | ANALYST: Dave Moore | SIDELINE: T.J. Rives
SPANISH RADIO: 96.1 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Carlos Bohorquez | ANALYST: Martin Gramatica
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– Game Days At Glory Days Grill –
It’s “NACHO” average Tuesday at Glory Days Grill! Glory Days Grill features $8 nachos every Tuesday, including Buffalo Chicken Nachos or the Macho Nachos. The Buffalo Chicken Nachos are piled high with crispy chicken tenders in buffalo sauce over cheddar and jack cheeses, fresh salsa and a blue cheese drizzle. The Macho Nachos come topped with smoked chicken or pulled pork, fresh tortilla chips, queso, Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses, salsa and sour cream.
Glory Days Grill
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Scott Reynolds: Bucs Aren’t The Road Warriors They Need To Be
The Bucs rebounded nicely at home, beating the Giants, 30-10, on Monday Night Football. The key parts of that last sentence are “at home,” where Tampa Bay is a perfect 5-0 this season. On the road, it’s been a different story. The Bucs are 2-3 on the road and didn’t play that well in their two wins at New England and Philadelphia. I just don’t trust this team to play away from Raymond James Stadium yet. They need to prove me wrong, and I hope they do.
Bucs LB Lavonte David and WFT RB Antonio Gibson – Photo by: USA Today
At home, the Bucs are averaging over 38 points per game. They are world-beaters. On the road, the Bucs are mere mortals, averaging just over 23 points per game. Averaging less than two touchdowns per game on the road is just not good enough to win. The Colts defense is good, but not great. Yet the Bucs have been their own worst enemy with penalties and turnovers, which have hurt their cause.
Tampa Bay’s No. 1 ranked run defense will be challenged by Indianapolis’ offensive line and run game, which will be the best the Bucs have faced all year. The Bucs will need to get stops for no gain or negative yards to get Indianapolis into third-and-long situations. If they can slow down Jonathan Taylor and hold him to less than 75 yards, the Bucs will win if they can force Carson Wentz to beat them. If Taylor goes for 100 yards or more on the ground and wears down Tampa Bay’s defense, expect the Bucs to fall to 2-4 on the road.
Reynolds’ Score Prediction: Colts 27, Buccaneers 24
Reynolds’ Season Record: 7-3
Jon Ledyard: Match-up Favors The Bucs On Paper
I respect the run that the Colts are on. They are a tough team in both trenches, extremely well-coached and incredibly opportunistic. Indianapolis leads the NFL in turnovers created and is sixth-best at not turning the ball over. Combine that with a ferocious rushing attack and a few random big plays through the air, and the Colts have won five of six in impressive fashion. But they’ve also done so while getting very little from the quarterback position. As soon as that changes, won’t they get exposed?
Bucs NT Vita Vea – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
I believe they will be. The question becomes, will that happen this week or not? The Bucs clearly have the ability to shut down the run, as evidenced by their league-leading run defense for the third straight season. Right now, the Colts are churning out 148 yards per game on the ground. If the Bucs allow that kind of production, it’ll be a long game. But right now Tampa Bay is surrendering just 78 yards per game on the ground. When the Bucs set out to stop the run, nobody has gashed them consistently enough to win since Todd Bowles arrived in 2019.
So I think Carson Wentz will have to make plays to keep Indy alive. Can he do that and still avoid turnovers and sacks? The career sample size is cause for skepticism, but Wentz has been relatively mistake-free this season. On offense, the Bucs will be challenged, but I can’t see Indy getting enough pressure to shut them down. For the Bucs to lose this one, they’ll need to beat themselves a good bit once again. That’s always a possibility, but I’m betting they come out intent on ending their road woes.
Ledyard’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 26, Colts 17
Ledyard’s Season Record: 9-1
Matt Matera: Bucs Show They Can Win Big Games On The Road Again
The Bucs have not been the best on the road this season with a 2-3 record in away games. The timing doesn’t help playing the Colts where they are on one of the hottest runs in football and coming off a dominating win against the Buffalo Bills. With that said, styles make fights, and the way this one sets up helps out the road team.
Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today
For all the issues the Bucs have had, last week’s win showed they’re putting it behind them. While not 100 percent healthy, they’re getting closer and have already seen improvements with Rob Gronkowski and Sean Murphy-Bunting back. Offensively, the best thing they could do is jump out to a two-possession lead early. Now that Tampa Bay has at least a third option in the passing game with Gronkowski it makes it very difficult to stop them completely. The Bucs should play up-tempo to get the Colts off their game.
We all know the Colts are going to run the ball with Jonathan Taylor, and that directly plays into the Bucs’ hands. Everyone also knows that the Bucs have the best run defense in the NFL. They’re hopefully getting Vita Vea back this week and it’s the perfect opponent to play against. The Bucs should welcome the Colts to run the ball, they won’t have the success they’ve had against another team. Devin White has been trending up lately, and he’s still at his best stopping the run. Let the Bucs get out to the lead and force the Colts to rely on Carson Wentz to bring them back in the game. The chances of that aren’t exactly likely, and the Bucs prove to the rest of the league that they can still win important road games.
Matera’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 31, Colts 17
Matera’s Season Record: 7-3
J.C. Allen: Bucs Turn The Tide On Road Woes
The Bucs have struggled putting points on the board on the road all season. That will need to change if they’re to beat the Colts in Indianapolis. Tampa’s 23 points scored when away from Raymond James, matches Indy’s 23 points allowed when at home. Coincidentally the Bucs nearly 28 points allowed on the road, matches the Colts scoring output when at home. They’ll need to switch those numbers.
Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
Two big factors will play into this away game that haven’t in recent road games. The return of Sean Murphy-Bunting to the secondary and Rob Gronkowski on offense. The theme at the AdventHealth training facility has been getting off to a hot start and that will be key this Sunday. The Colts present plenty of match up problems for the Bucs including a league high +15 turnover differential.
On Defense the impending return of Vita Vea will help to stop the leagues hottest rushing attack led by Jonathan Taylor. That’s exactly what the Bucs should focus on doing. Take away the run game and make the Colts one dimensional and dare Carson Wentz to beat you through the air. If they can be successful at that and put points on the board early there’s no reason the Bucs shouldn’t win this game.
Allen’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 31, Colts 17
Allen’s Season Record: 7-3
Paul Atwal: Bucs End Taylor’s MVP Hype
The Colts are a solid team, sure. But if the Bucs don’t shoot themselves in the foot – which is a huge if – it should be a smooth-sailing win. For all of the recent Jonathan Taylor hype, it’s still passing efficiency above all else that decides NFL games. And when it comes to airing it out, Carson Wentz is still Carson Wentz – just with lower volume. The Colts have the 13th-ranked passing attack by EPA/play, tucked between the Raiders and Bengals. Respectable, but that’s it. Further, while the Colts have the best ground game in the league, the Bucs – with Vita Vea back in action – will hold up just fine. In fact, if the Colts are one of the few teams who think they can run the ball against the Bucs, that’ll be a win for Todd Bowles.
Colts RB Jonathan Taylor – Photo by: USA Today
Defensively, the Colts are a bottom-third team at stopping the pass. Even though the Bucs’ offense can get clunky without Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski’s return goes a long way. Especially with the way Byron Leftwich utilized first-down passing and tempo last week, this unit might be ready to take a huge step forward.
At this point, I’m not convinced that the Bucs’ home/road disparity is signal rather than noise, either. Does that mean I’m 100 percent confident that the Bucs will win? No. It’ll take a lot to regain that sort of confidence after the Washington loss. But unless Tampa Bay’s pass rush goes back to being nonexistent while the offense continues to turn easy catches into drop-interceptions, expect the defending Super Bowl champions to take care of business.
Atwal’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 31, Colts 21
Atwal’s Season Record: 8-2
Kasey Hudson: Bucs Slip By Colts On The Road
Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR
The Buccaneers defense do well subduing dangerous running backs but allow teams to have a solo receiver make progressive plays in key moments. Two examples would be versus Washington and New Orleans. They cannot give the Colts a chance to do just enough. A helpful asset here is the return of Sean Murphy-Bunting. Murphy-Bunting had seven tackles versus the Giants Monday night. Jamal Dean and Mike Edwards had a more accountable presence, and leave it to Antoine Winfield, Jr. to be in on clutch plays. Something to keep an eye on is the rekindling of Devin White and Lavonte David. Both have stepped up in the last two games.
Hudson’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 27, Colts 24
Hudson’s Season Record: 7-3
