PewterReport.com Publisher/Bucs Beat Writer Scott Reynolds

With three straight losses, I just can’t pick the Bucs to win again until they show me they can. My lone accurately predicted win came at Los Angeles against the Rams in Week 4. Can Tampa Bay recapture some more West Coast magic this week in Seattle against a formidable Seahawks team? I doubt it.

It will be interesting to see if the Seahawks look past the Bucs to next week’s game at San Francisco against the undefeated 49ers. If Pete Carroll’s squad does that, it only benefits Tampa Bay. But Seattle is a veteran team and I don’t really expect that to happen. It’s interesting to note that the 6-2 Seahawks have lost two games at home this season when CenturyLink Field is usually a tough place for opposing teams to declare victory.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and Bucs LB Lavonte David – Photo by: Getty Images

Russell Wilson is having one of his best seasons with 17 touchdown passes and just one interception. That doesn’t bode well for a Bucs defense that only has five interceptions on the year, and just three from its very young secondary. Tyler Lockett is having another Pro Bowl-caliber season with 46 catches for 615 yards and four scores. He’ll pose a big challenge for Vernon Hargreaves III, and he’s a perfect compliment to rookie D.K. Metcalf, who is a giant at 6-foot-4, 229 pounds. Metcalf has 23 catches for 402 yards (17.5 avg.) and four touchdowns. Carlton Davis will be matched up against Metcalf.

On offense, the Bucs might be without tight ends O.J. Howard (hamstring) and Cameron Brate (ribs) this week, and that could harm point production. That means that Mike Evans and Chris Godwin have to step up and have a big game on Sunday, as well as Tampa Bay’s hit-and-miss ground game. More importantly, the offensive line needs to do a better job of protecting Jameis Winston as they are averaging four sacks surrendered per game. And Winston needs to have a turnover-free game, which has only happened twice this season.

Until this team proves it can stop beating itself, the Bucs will continue to lose – to themselves and their opponents.

Reynolds’ Score Prediction: Seahawks 31, Bucs 23
Reynolds’ Pick To Click: OLB Jason Pierre-Paul
Reynolds’ Season Record: 1-6

PewterReport.com Editor/Bucs Beat Writer Mark Cook

Breaking a three-game losing streak is difficult. Doing it against a 6-2 football team, on the road, in one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, seems downright impossible.

Except it’s not.

This Bucs team is at a crossroads. Are they different than in year’s past? Do they have enough leadership to bring the team out of their funk? Does Bruce Arians and his staff get through to this group and convince they not only can they win, but that they will win?

Tampa Bay isn’t a bad football team. If fact it is as talented of a team as the Bucs have had over the last decade. Yet they are under-performing and finding new ways to lose almost every week.

For Tampa Bay to come home from Seattle 3-5 instead of 2-6 it will have to eliminate the turnovers, and that means quarterback Jameis Winston has to play smart football. Not passive, just smart. Sustain some drives, get points on the board and help get the the crowd out of the game.

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Defensively, the Buccaneers have to contain Russell Wilson somewhat. They aren’t going to shut him down completely, but they can’t allow it to be too easy. That means pressure – but smart pressure. There is no one better who can get outside the pocket and sling it as accurately as Wilson. In fact Tampa Bay wants to keep Wilson in the pocket and force him to go through his progressions and reads. He can freelance with the best of them and will kill this secondary if he is scrambling around. He can beat teams with his arm but also his legs.

Offensively the line will need to do a better job of establishing the run and also protecting Winston. Either Mike Evans or Chris Godwin will have plenty of opportunities, depending one which receiver the Seahawks focus on shutting down. They can’t double both so when there is a play to be made, Evans and Godwin have to make it.

I expect this game to go back and forth through the first 50 minutes or so, and then Tampa Bay will create a turnover and the offense will do what they couldn’t do last week – and that is take the ball and drive it done the field to win the game. I know it seems insane to pick Tampa Bay to win at Seattle, but this game is available for the taking if the Bucs just don’t beat themselves.

Cook’s Score Prediction: Bucs 27, Seahawks 23
Cook’s Pick To Click: WR Mike Evans
Cook’s Season Record: 0-7

PewterReport.com Bucs Beat Reporter Trevor Sikkema

In his last game as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2017, Bruce Arians defeated the Seahawks in Seattle, bringing his record as a coach at CentryLink to an astounding 4-1. To open up the post-game press conference, Arians addressed the media by saying, “I’d like to thank you all for coming to my house.”

You can be sure Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and the rest of that organization remembers that, even if they might not admit it.

Unfortunately for Arians, being in his own home hasn’t served him well as the Bucs head coach, seeing as how they have yet to win a game at home as a team. Perhaps a change of home locations will do the Bucs some good.

Coaching animosity aside, this is going to be a tough one. The Bucs’ struggling offensive line will have their hands full with the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Jarran Reed, Ziggy Ansah and Poona Ford on Seattle’s defensive line coming after them. In order for Jameis Winston to have enough time to do anything, they’ll need to step it up. This can’t be another Panthers-London game.

Bucs RB Ronald Jones II – Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images

On the flip side, I would say that getting to Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson is paramount, but Wilson seems to be just as good when pressured as he is when not. Only way to stop him is to sack him. If not, the receiving duo of Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf might tear this Bucs secondary up.

The Bucs have to bring it for this one. They have to target their best players on offense (free Ronald Jones) and they have to execute on defense. It will take the best of the Buccaneers to win on Sunday, and I have yet to see the best of the Buccaneers be sustained outside of the Los Angeles game.

*Shark Tank voice* “For that reason, I’m out.”

Sikkema’s Score Prediction: Seahawks 34, Bucs 31
Sikkema’s Pick To Click: RB Ronald Jones
Sikkema’s Season Record: 1-6

PewterReport.com Bucs Beat Writer Matt Matera

This is arguably the toughest opponent that the Bucs have faced this season and it comes at a bad time with Tampa Bay on a three-game losing streak. The Seahawks are one of the best teams in the league and it’s difficult to win in their building. The Bucs have been angry all week after their loss to the Titans, which has been expressed by Bruce Arians and the players, but they have to go out and prove that they will play different before anyone can believe it.

CenturyLin Field in Seattle can be an intimidating place to play, but the Seahawks have lost two games at home this season, so it’s not impossible. Seattle’s defense is ranked 23rd in the game with 376.1 yards per game, which means the Bucs should be able to move the ball on this defense despite having a great pass rusher in Jadeveon Clowney. I want to see better play calling from offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich. Last week seemed to predictable, and the Titans were able to snuff out some of the Bucs screens and rushes before the ball was snapped. They need to mix it up more to win.

OLB Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

With the Bucs, is always comes down to staying out of their own way and not making mistakes that lead to turnovers. Are the Bucs capable of not turning the ball over? Yes. Will they play turnover free football? Probably not.

The style of offense the Seattle likes to run actually benefits the Bucs. Seattle is a run heavy team and the Bucs lead the league in run defense, but the X-factor, of course, is Russell Wilson. The Super Bowl winning quarterback is incredible at extending plays and escaping out of the pocket. That’s a terrible combination for a Bucs team that has trouble defending against wide receivers. Tampa Bay does have quick defensive linemen in Shaq Barrett and even Vita Vea that can track down Wilson, but I still think Tyler Lockett and company have a field deal. I do think the Bucs come out and play inspired football, but the Seahawks will be just too good to overcome.

Matera’s Score Prediction: Seahawks 34, Bucs 27
Matera’s Pick-To-Click- DT Vita Vea
Matera’s Season Record: 2-5

PewterReport.com Bucs Beat Writer Taylor Jenkins

The Bucs head to Seattle this Sunday at 2-5 on the heels of a three-game skid, the longest such losing streak of Bruce Arians’ head coaching career. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay and their first-year head coach, they’re taking on a supremely talented roster, led by an MVP candidate in Russell Wilson, that’s battling to keep pace with an undefeated 49ers team within their division.

It’s a long flight across the country on the tail end of an unprecedented road trip to play in one of the least friendly stadiums for visiting teams. Unless everything goes right for the Bucs, and they get some help from the Seahawks as well, it appears to me that Tampa Bay will be overmatched.

Bucs WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The offense begins with Chris Carson. The Seahawks are near the top of the league in rush percentage, running the ball on 48.3 percent of their offensive snaps while Carson sits fifth in the league in rushing yards at 659 through eight games.

The Bucs’ front seven is built to stop the run, as they’ve shown time and time again, but I believe they will again struggle to defend the pass while Wilson, who leads the league in passer rating, has a number of talented targets in Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf and Luke Wilson who’s taken the starting role in Will Dissly’s absense. The Bucs will not have to just provide a pass rush to slow down Wilson on Sunday, that won’t be enough. They’re going to have to convert their pressures to sacks and finish plays in the backfield, something outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul’s presence should help with.

Defensively the Seahawks are no longer the classic “Legion of Boom” that was putting the team in Super Bowl contention on a yearly basis, but they’re still a strong unit led by All-Pro inside linebacker Bobby Wagner. The Seahawks’ run defense ranks around the middle of the league but if Winston can play clean, mistake-free football, Seattle’s pass defense is allowing 273 passing yards per game, ranking 27th in the league. On the flip side, however, Seattle is also forcing 1.9 turnovers per game.

If the Bucs want to escape CenturyLink Field with a win on Sunday they must have an A+ game from all three units and just hope Seattle isn’t firing on all cylinders.

Jenkins’ Score Prediction: Seahawks 33, Bucs 24
Jenkins’ Pick-To-Click: WR Chris Godwin
Jenkins’ Season Record: 0-7