PewterReport.com Publisher / Bucs Beat Writer Scott Reynolds

Sunday’s game at Tennessee is a must-win for the Buccaneers if they are going to have any chance at avoiding double-digit losses for a third straight season. At 2-4, the Bucs are coming off a bye week and must go on a run, winning consecutive games in a row to get back to – and eventually over – .500 again. A loss to the Titans, who are 3-4 thanks to a lucky win against the Chargers last week, and the Bucs are 2-5 and all but out of the playoff race before November. Yet a hard-fought win on the road and Tampa Bay is 3-4 and a possible wild card berth can’t be ruled out.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has taken over for Marcus Mariota, whose time in Tennessee may be over. Mariota was selected right behind Jameis Winston in the 2015 NFL Draft, and if Winston can’t move on from his six-turnover performance in London against Carolina prior to the bye week, his days in Tampa Bay may be numbered, too. Giving Winston a clean pocket is the key, as he’s been sacked 13 times in the last two games, which is ridiculous. Titans edge rusher Harold Landry leads the team with four sacks, but Tennessee can bring pressure from all over, evidenced by 2.5 sacks from cornerback Logan Ryan.

Bucs WR Chris Godwin – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The key to a successful day from Winston is for the Bucs to establish the run and allow him to hit receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin against single coverage with play-action passes downfield. Establishing the run will also aid the Bucs’ offensive line when it shifts to pass protection, and the tight ends and running backs must do a better job of keeping Winston upright, too.

Defensively, the Bucs are hopeful to activate edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul for Sunday’s game so teams will stop sliding protection schemes towards Shaq Barrett, who has nine sacks, but none in the past two games. Defensive linemen Will Gholston, Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh will need to be stout against big back Derrick Henry, who can break tackles and then break off long runs once he gets to the second level. Tampa Bay’s secondary must heed the call to become more physical in coverage, especially with jams at the line of scrimmage in order to force Tannehill to hold on to the ball an extra second longer.

This figures to be a close, low-scoring game initially, but the Bucs should pull away in the fourth quarter. Being efficient on third down and in the red zone is key on offense, and the defense must do a better job of forcing takeaways as it has only one in the past two games.

Reynolds’ Score Prediction: Bucs 26, Titans 23
Reynolds’ Pick-To-Click: WR Chris Godwin
Season Prediction Record: 1-5

PewterReport.com Editor/Bucs Beat Writer Mark Cook

Must win in October? Bruce Arians said no, but I say absolutely. If the Bucs even dream of making a push for a wild card playoff spot they can’t lose this game. And if they want to make a push for the community to not give up on them by Halloween as they do most seasons, they can’t lose this game.

If you are Bucs fans you really would have preferred Marcus Mariota to start on Sunday. The Bucs have a knack for making backup quarterbacks look like Peyton Manning in his prime, and while Ryan Tannehill is serviceable, he’s no Manning – Peyton or Eli for that matter. The Dolphins gave up on him. Imagine being so bad the Dolphins said, “yeah, we’ve seen enough, good luck.”

Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs should win the game. On paper they have a better roster from top to bottom. Missing O.J. Howard isn’t ideal, but Tampa Bay has enough weapons to make up for his mediocre production so far this season. Jameis Winston tends to have nice bounce back games, and this is a team that should provide him the opportunity. And Evans should still be angry about his performances the last two weeks. I expect him to have a big game, especially with the Titans secondary hurting with cornerback Adoree’ Jackson ruled out.

Defensively the secondary was little better in London than in previous weeks, and that improvement will need to continue on Sunday. The Titans don’t come close to having a receiver in the class of Mike Evans or Chris Godwin. Of course neither did the 49ers, Giants or Panthers. Titans wide receiver Adam Humphries hasn’t really gotten it going this year, and Tampa Bay needs to keep it that way.

For some reason I feel good about this game. I like this staff and don’t see them allowing this team to lose three straight. That just doesn’t happen under Arians, historically speaking. The Bucs will run the ball effectively, get enough out of Winston, and prove just  enough pressure on Tannehill to make him play like he did down in Miami.

Cook Score Prediction: Bucs 28, Titans 24
Cook’s Pick-To-Click: Bucs WR Mike Evans
Season Prediction Record: 0-6

PewterReport.com Bucs Beat Writer Trevor Sikkema

Five years ago this game would have been pegged as the game of the week, and likely would have been a primetime matchup of two franchise quarterbacks, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota.

Five years is a long time.

One of those quarterbacks remain, the one for the Buccaneers, but he won’t be facing off against his 2015 NFL Draft counterpart like the two did to open their careers. Instead he’ll be looking to out-duel the veteran Ryan Tannehill. I think Winston will — he should.

The Bucs offensive line certainly has to play better. They’ll have their hands full with Titans defensive linemen Harold Landry and Jeffrey Simmons, but the Bucs also have the weapons in the passing game to really pick on the Titans cornerbacks. A year ago when the Bucs faced the Titans in the preseason after a week of joint practices, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin came out dominating the Tennessee secondary, a group that has not changed much since.

Bucs DT Ndamukong Suh – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

On the flip side, the Buccaneers defensive line has a juicy matchup this week against a struggling Titans offensive line. Tennessee’s interior protection has been one of the worst in the league this year, and guys like Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea were brought to Tampa to capitalize on weeks like this one.

Tampa’s secondary will be facing a unique group of pass catchers in Corey Davis, A.J. Brown and Adam Humphries at receiver and Jonnu Smith at tight end. I expect safety Jordan Whitehead to once again be matched up with the tight ends when the team goes to man coverage. Though Humphries has not been as productive overall as the Titans hoped since arriving this past free agency, the Bucs have really struggled to cover slot players, and with Humphries having a familiarity with the Bucs cornerbacks, he could have an impactful day. Whoever is in the slot, whether Sean Murphy-Bunting or M.J. Stewart, they have to be sharp or the shifty Humphries will expose them.

Ultimately it will be up to the Bucs offensive line to give Winston enough time to pick apart the Titans defense. If they do that, the Bucs should out-score them.

Sikkema’s Score Prediction: Bucs 28, Titans 23
Sikkema’s Pick-To-Click: Bucs QB Jameis Winston
Season Prediction Record: 1-5

PewterReport.com Bucs Beat Writer Taylor Jenkins

What was once a thrilling matchup between two franchise quarterbacks selected first and second overall in 2015 is now a battle between the backup who has already supplanted Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston, at arguable the most volatile tipping point in his five-year career.

Winston has something to prove, as he should every game this season with a contract extension – or free agency – looming, especially after his five-interception, six-turnover performance against the Panthers in London two weeks ago.

For the team as a whole, it’s a fork in the road. One way you’re 3-4 where it will be an uphill battle but you’re still in the race, the other way you’ve fallen into a 2-5 hole that’s a nearly impossible to climb out of. From 1990 to 2013 teams starting 3-4 had a 19 percent chance of making the playoffs while teams that started 2-5 had just a 3 percent chance.

The offense will start with the run game. The offensive line will still be without right guard Alex Cappa so Earl Watford will have a lot on his plate as Tampa Bay looks to move the ball efficiently on the ground against a defense that’s allowed just 10 passing touchdowns on the season en route to giving up a measly 16 points per game.

On the other side of the ball Tennessee’s offense has looked disjointed, scoring seven points or less in three of their past five games, but they did move the ball better with Ryan Tannehill under center.

If this season has shown us anything, Derrick Henry can be kept in check by this Tampa Bay front seven so it will all come down to the pass rush getting after Tannehill while the secondary is tasked with just limiting the damage done by Corey Davis, A.J. Brown, Adam Humphries and Delanie Walker.

The talent is there for Tampa Bay to go into Tennessee and escape with a win, but the key will be a combination of efficient passing from Winston, consistency in the run game and a serviceable performance that comes from both the front and back end of the defense. It just absolutely can’t continue to be one, the other or neither from this defensive unit.

Jenkins’ Score Prediction: Bucs 24, Titans 20
Jenkins’ Pick-To-Click: RB Ronald Jones
Season Prediction Record: 0-6

PewterReport.com Bucs Beat Writer Matt Matera

This is an extremely important game for the Bucs in terms of keeping their playoff hopes alive. Coming off a bye week, the Bucs absolutely have to win this one playing against a Ryan Tannehil – led Titans. As bad a Jameis Winston was in London, he tends to always have a bounce back game after a sloppy performance, and I think that trend continues on Sunday.

What’s concerning is the Bucs are playing against another formidable front with the Titans pass rush. Tennessee also just got rookie Jeffrey Simmons back, who recorded a sack in his NFL debut. Winston will have to show that he can avoid the pressure, or at least get the ball out quickly, and part of his bounce back means not turning the ball over.

Last year in training camp, the Bucs and Titans had a joint practice together and the biggest takeaway was that the Bucs’ receivers dominated the Titans’ corners. Heading into this year, more of the same will happen for Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. It’s been Godwin who’s been putting up prolific numbers, but the Titans are going to send more help to his side, giving Evans some really beneficial matchups that he hasn’t gotten as much this season.

We all know how bad the secondary has been for the Bucs this year, but their struggles are also because the Bucs haven’t had a pass rush in recent weeks. Shaq Barrett has been double teamed and drawn the attention of the offensive line, but no one else has stepped up. But with Jason Pierre-Paul set to return, the Bucs pass rush, and specifically Barrett get a huge upgrade. Even if he plays a limited number of snaps, it could free up some opportunities for Barrett to get in the sack column again. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles has faced Ryan Tannehill plenty of times back from their days on the Jets and Dolphins, so I’m sure he’ll have the right game plan to rattle him.

Nothing ever seems to come easy for the Bucs. So even in a game that they must win, it’s going to be a stressful victory. Big games from Winston and Evans along with Pierre-Paul’s presence helps give the Bucs an extra edge to overcome the Titans.

Matera’s Score Prediction: Bucs 30, Titans 27
Matera’s Pick-To-Click: WR Mike Evans
Season Record: 2-4