A key matchup in Monday’s wildcard matchup between the Bucs and the Cowboys could be that of Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb vs. whomever the Bucs line up as their slot corner. Lamb locked horns in week one of the regular season with Bucs safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who made his debut as the Bucs slot corner in that game.

Over the course of his first three seasons in the NFL, Winfield has quickly ascended to become one of the best safeties in the league. As a slot corner he has had a mostly good season with largely strong play mixed with a couple of games where he struggled.

Bucs S Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

In their original matchup the Bucs’ defensive lynchpin got the better of the Cowboys receiver, holding Lamb to just one catch for 13 yards on three targets according to Pro Football Focus while playing 54 of his 71 snaps from the slot. Winfield graded out for the game with a 71.0 coverage mark for the game as he allowed five receptions for 55 yards across the entire match while also recording six total tackles, a pass defended and an interception.

That coverage grade was Winfield’s fourth best of the season. But it was his play against Lamb that really helped stymie the Dallas offense and help the Bucs defense hold the Cowboys to just three points.

Bucs Have Difficult Decision To Make

There is a chance the Bucs decide not to put Winfield in the slot this week. While Winfield has been a good slot corner, he is an elite deep safety, showing the range and instincts that allow him to play the centerfield role in head coach Todd Bowles’ largely Cover 3 scheme. And while last year’s nickel corner Sean Murphy-Bunting has been much maligned over the past few years due to inconsistent play, the fact is he has performed very well this season in limited duty.

Now most of Murphy-Bunting’s great play this year has come on the outside filling in for starting cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean. Murphy-Bunting has logged 20 or more snaps in nine games this year. Only three of those games featured him in the slot for the majority of the game. He had a good game Week 9 against the Rams and Week 12 against the Browns. But his worst game of the season was arguably Week 10 when he lined up 40 of his 44 snaps in the slot against the Seahawks. That game Murphy-Bunting allowed five catches on five targets for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But Murphy-Bunting has played more often towards the end of the season due to injuries and has finished the year strong with Pro Football Focus coverage grades of 74.2, 89.8, and 69.6 over the final three weeks of the season (albeit on the outside).

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles may elect to put Murphy-Bunting in the slot to allow Winfield Jr. to play his natural position of safety where his play is truly exceptional if he believes that Murphy-Bunting’s recent string of high-level play and boosted confidence can translate to the difficult task of playing inside.

While Murphy-Bunting has played out of necessity towards the end of the season it does appear that if he gets playing time in this playoff matchup it will be due to a choice the coaching staff has made as it looks like the Bucs secondary is getting healthy just in time for the most important part of their season.

No Matter Who Gets The Nod At Nickel, They Face A Tough Challenge

Whether it be Murphy-Bunting or Winfield or someone else for that matter, the player will most likely face off against Lamb quite a bit. Lamb has lined up in the slot on just over half of his 1,014 offensive snaps this season. And Dallas uses 11 personnel (1 running back, 1 tight end and 3 wide receivers) on about two thirds of their plays according to Sharp Football. His percentage of snaps in the slot goes up on passing plays from 53% to 63% on plays where Dallas opts to throw. In their week one matchup Lamb was in the slot on 36 of his 67 snaps.

Lamb is far and away Dallas’ best receiver, and the one quarterback Dak Prescott is most comfortable with. On the season Lamb has been targeted 148 times, hauling in 107 receptions for 1,359 yards and nine touchdowns. His league ranks in each of those categories are 5th, 4th, 6th, and t-4th respectively. Lamb’s yards per route run is an incredible 2.38, which ranks 10th in the NFL among receivers with at least 75 targets.

Lamb has accounted for over one third of Dallas’ passing production this year. If the Bucs can limit Lamb like they did in week one when they held him to just two catches for 20 yards on 10 targets in what was easily his worst game of the year, then the Bucs defense has a good chance of stalling the Cowboys offense and leading the team to victory.