Week 2: Bucs Win If / Browns Win If

ehinote · 2026-09-18T18:04:06Z

After a disappointing Week 1 loss to the Bengals, the Buccaneers need to come out Sunday and prove they are a team to be reckoned with. There were positives in that loss, and for what it's worth I did pick the Bucs to lose. But being 1-0 in my predictions isn't nearly as fun when the correct pick was a Bucs loss. The Browns aren't a great team, but this game is not a gimme. Cleveland absolutely circled this game as a potential win when they looked at their schedule. If the Bucs don't play well, the Browns are more than capable of sneaking out of Raymond James Stadium with a victory. Here's how I see both teams setting themselves up for success Sunday. BUCS WIN IF...Offense: Ball Security First, Everything Else SecondThe Buccaneers must start with ball security. Full stop. I hope Baker Mayfield and every skill player on this offense worked on ball drills every single day this week, because four fumbles against the Bengals simply cannot become a habit. The encouraging thing is that before the fumbling started in Cincinnati, this offense was actually getting somewhere. The running game was working. The quick passing game was clicking. And the motion and play action that Zac Robinson was using was genuinely exciting, very reminiscent of what Liam Coen was doing in 2024, just not quite as smooth yet.The Browns' defense has some real strength up the middle with Mason Graham at defensive tackle and Carson Schwesinger at middle linebacker. Graham is not a player you can simply overpower. Mixing things up with stretch runs, screen passes, and a well-timed trap or two could keep him off balance and guessing. Play action passes should be able to suck Schwesinger up toward the line of scrimmage just enough to get completions behind him on linebackers.This needs to be a complete team effort offensively. Show some two-back packages with Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell together. Get the ball to Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Tez Johnson early. Rotate Ted Hurst and a healthy Jalen McMillan into the mix throughout. And Cade Otton has to show up with some reliable hands this week (and maybe gloves too).Ideally this is a game where we see Irving and Gainwell take over in the fourth quarter with the Bucs protecting a lead and running the clock out. That's the script. Let's hope the team follows it.Defense: Make Watson Beat YouThe Browns are not in a good place at quarterback, and good NFL teams have to win these games. I don't expect the Buccaneers' defense to hold Cleveland under 10 points, but they absolutely should be able to hold them to under or around 20. This is a week where the defensive line needs to show up and show out. Playing with a lead would help.But I'm not naive enough to think this will be a complete shutdown performance. Browns head coach Todd Monken is an excellent offensive mind, even if he's working with limited talent right now. He will have a plan to attack Bowles' defense, and that always gives me pause. Can the Bucs slow down tight end Harold Fannin Jr.? He's not a superstar, but he is very serviceable. KC Concepcion has genuine talent at receiver. Jerry Jeudy has a history of coming up with huge individual games against quality competition. And Quinshon Judkins can make something out of absolutely nothing on any given play.This is the NFL. These Browns players want to win too. Our defensive weakness beyond the inability to stop tight ends is when athletes get loose in the open field. If the front seven can keep everything in front of them, get to Deshaun Watson quickly, and tackle with the discipline Bowles emphasized all week in practice, the Bucs defense should do enough to hold Cleveland to around 20 points. That should be enough to win this football game.BROWNS WIN IF...Offense: Monken Gets Creative and Watson Doesn't Turn It OverTodd Monken was the Baltimore Ravens' offensive coordinator the last time we saw him face Todd Bowles' defense in 2024. That was an offense loaded with superstar talent in Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and others. But I distinctly remember moments in that game where Ravens receivers were running so wide open downfield that I genuinely questioned whether the Bucs were playing with nine or ten men. Monken remembers that too. Count on it.If Monken can get his receivers/tight ends running open down the seams, Deshaun Watson is talented enough to hit them. Monken will be creative getting Judkins and Concepcion into space where they can create after the catch. I can see Judkins making plays out of the backfield as a receiver on designed swing and check-down routes. And Fannin will likely get the customary 60 to 70 yards that every tight end seems to accumulate against Todd Bowles' defense.The key for Cleveland is simple: Watson cannot turn the ball over and he needs to take what the defense gives him rather than forcing things. If he manages the game cleanly and lets Monken's creativity do the heavy lifting, the Browns give themselves a genuine chance at an upset.Defense: Cat...

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Carpenter

I could have sworn some mouthbreather on here touting this team as a 12+ win team with a top 5 O-Line and one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Posted : Sep. 20, 2026 3:52 pm

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Week 2: Bucs Win If / Browns Win If

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