The PewterReport.com staff offers up its preview of the Bucs at Giants game, as well as its predictions for Sunday’s game as Tampa Bay tries to snap a three-game losing streak.

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (3-6) AT NEW YORK GIANTS (2-7)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1:00 P.M. ET
METLIFE STADIUM (82,500)
NETWORK TELEVISION: FOX
PLAY-BY-PLAY: THOM BRENNAMAN ANALYST: CHRIS SPIELMAN SIDELINE: SHANNON SPAKE BUCS RADIO: 98ROCK, FLAGSHIP STATION (WXTB-97.9 FM)
PLAY-BY-PLAY: GENE DECKERHOFF ANALYST: DAVE MOORE SIDELINE: T.J. RIVES
LAST GAME: TAMPA BAY LOST VS. WASHINGTON, 16-3; NEW YORK WON AT SAN FRANCISCO, 27-23

PewterReport.com Publisher and Bucs Beat Writer Scott Reynolds
Tampa Bay’s defense is banged up at the wrong time right now. Not having linebacker Lavonte David and free safety Justin Evans really hurts when going up against a New York Giants team that has potent weapons in wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and running back Saquon Barkley. Defending Beckham is one thing, but who is going to cover Barkley out of the backfield? Linebacker Adarius Taylor will have his hands full, and that’s a match-up that should favor the Giants.

Bucs DC Mark Duffner – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I would expect Bucs defensive coordinator Mark Duffner to deploy a decent amount of dime defense to get extra safety Andrew Adams on the field in place of linebacker Devante Bond to try to create better match-ups against Barkley and the Giants’ skilled receiving corps, which also includes speedy tight end Evan Engram. Look for the Giants to win these battles with regularity.

Led by defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, a former Giant, Tampa Bay’s defensive line will have to generate a mighty pass rush to disrupt Eli Manning, who is a streaky passer that can be deadly to a defense if he’s in rhythm. Anticipating this, I would suspect the Giants would throw a lot of screen passes to Beckham and Barkley on the perimeter and force cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Carlton Davis to make tackles in space.

This is a game in which the Bucs offense will need to score 30-plus points to win to help out its ailing defense. Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter was wise to turn the play-calling duties back over to offensive coordinator Todd Monken this week, as the Bucs will have to attack, attack, attack on offense and hope the defense can come up with a takeaway or two – something that hasn’t been done now in six weeks, which is criminal to the point where it is killing Tampa Bay.

The Bucs are a league-worst minus-19 in the turnover margin. Since that is the usual determining factor in most NFL games, the Bucs will once again come up short in this all-important category and lose their fourth straight game. The fact that it is supposed to be around 40 degrees at kickoff doesn’t help a warm-weather team like Tampa Bay, either.

Reynolds’ Score Prediction: Giants 34, Buccaneers 31
Reynolds’ Pick-To-Click: TE O.J. Howard

PewterReport.com Editor and Bucs Beat Writer Mark Cook
This season is quickly turning into an utter disaster. It reminds of the old Allied Discount Tires commercial in the 1970’s where Sam Behr would say, “Tires Ain’t Purty.”

That is what 2018 has become. It ain’t purty, folks. And it as about to go from “ain’t purty” to really, really ugly if the Bucs lose to the 2-7 Giants in New York on Sunday. And looking at things realistically, I am not sure how the Buccaneers can win this game. They most certainly won’t if they play anything like they did offensively against the Redskins last week. Total yards are just window dressing. Scoring points is where it is at. And last week the whopping total of three was just plain embarrassing.

Bucs offensive coordinator Todd Monken – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The sliver of hope for the Bucs is the Giants are equally as bad. Maybe even worse. And with Todd Monken being reinstated as the play-caller this game, I suppose the Bucs can outscore the Giants. But it is a road game and the Bucs have been dreadful defensively away from Raymond James Stadium. And now with the announcement that linebacker Lavonte David, safety Justin Evans and defensive end Vinny Curry have been ruled out, things have gone from bad to worse.

I see the Bucs scoring some points but not able to keep up with or corral Giants sensation running back Saquon Barkley – at least not for the whole game. Bucs quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will play well, but throw a couple of picks that hurt Tampa Bay’s chances, and the Giants take this one, pulling away in the fourth quarter.

I am predicting a couple defensive turnovers however, a Carlton Davis interception of Eli Manning and a sack/fumble by Jason Pierre-Paul, but the Bucs defense won’t have any answers for Barkley, who will score two second half touchdowns against a depleted Tampa Bay defense.

I am afraid it, won’t be “purty” Bucs fans.

Cook’s Score Prediction: Giants 31, Buccaneers 23
Cook’s Pick-To-Click: DE Jason Pierre Paul

Bucs Beat Writer Trevor Sikkema
Okay, but really this time – this is it. If the Bucs don’t win this game, it’s the end. It’s likely the end anyways, but if they can’t beat a terrible New York Giants team with all the offensive firepower the Buccaneers have at their disposal, just blow the whole thing up.

I’m not overreacting. I’m being real.

The Buccaneers front office, owners, coaching staff and players all believe they’re in their window for winning. That’s why they wouldn’t sell any of their assets at the deadline. If their window of winning can’t even beat the Giants, just pack it all in.

The Bucs could be in some trouble with this one, too. Giants running back Saquon Barkley won’t have to face Lavonte David or Kwon Alexander, and for that, his day will likely be a delight. We’re also going to see Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepherd take on rookie, old and beat up defensive backs. Not a pretty recipe. The Bucs defense has to tackle well. It’s the same formula that it was against Carolina – which they failed.

Make no mistake, the Bucs have the weapons to win this game, but will they? Why would I have faith that happens? Tampa Bay needs an x-factor to go off outside of wide receiver Mike Evans and tight end O.J. Howard. They need wide receiver DeSean Jackson to break a big one and give them the spark in the cold.

Sikkema’s Score Prediction: Buccaneers 31, Giants 27
Sikkema’s Click-To-Pick: Bucs WR DeSean Jackson

PewterReport.com Intern Matt Matera
The Bucs have lost any benefit of the doubt after losing six out of their last seven. They’ve shown no proof that they can limit their turnovers, which at minus-19, is the worst differential in the league.

Sure, the defense let up their least amount of points with 16 on Sunday, but even in a game playing against a severely depleted Washington offensive line, they couldn’t maintain a consistent pass rush. They might have had three sacks, but when the game was on the line the red zone, Alex Smith could have finished his lunch before throwing for a touchdown.

This team has tackling and defending problems and now you expect them to stop Saquon Barkley and Odell Beckham, Jr? I don’t think so, and I fully understand that the Giants offense has been anemic despite have two of the best players in the NFL, but they scored 27 points on Monday. That is the second most points they have scored all season (they actually scored that twice), and next up for them is the Bucs without Lavonte David? Barkley can have 150 total yards from scrimmage with ease.

Bucs DE Jason Pierre-Paul – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

We all know the biggest storyline going into this game is that defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is playing against his old team in the stadium that he called home for the first eight years of his career. I expect him to have a huge game against this week Giants offensive line. If there’s anyone that can save the Bucs defense, it’s him. While they didn’t do their best against Washington’s line, the Giants line is just as bad and Eli Manning is not elusive like Alex Smith can be. Manning has this interesting way of bailing on a play as soon as the pocket collapses around him, kind of sacking himself.

Pierre-Paul has extra motivation in this one and I’m expecting him to be an animal out there, obtaining at least two sacks, if not three. Pierre-Paul himself said he’s going to bring the house down. He’s one of the few that has a chance to hold things afloat on that side of the ball for the Bucs.

New York’s defense is what has kept the team close in their games. They are not as bad as they look, as they bare all the weight on their back with a struggling offense, which eventually breaks them at the end. I have no question that the Bucs will be able to move the ball, but when does the turnover happen like it’s bound to? That, with the defense falling back to it’s old habits, causes the demise of the Bucs in this one.

Matera’s Score: Giants 26, Buccaneers 21
Matera’s Pick-To-Click: DE Jason Pierre-Paul

PewterReport.com Intern Taylor Jenkins
The Buccaneers head to MetLife Stadium this weekend to take on the 2-7 New York Giants. Tampa Bay enters the game looking to end a skid where they’ve lost six of their last seven matchups, with only an overtime win over the Cleveland Browns since September.

The time that’s transpired since the Bucs sat at 2-0 – with wins over the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles – seems like a lifetime ago. Excitement has turned to anger and hope has turned to anguish for many Bucs fans. Now at 3-6, Tampa Bay is desperate for any sort of upward trend and luckily the Giants have struggled as of late, with their win over the 49ers last week ending a five-game losing streak.

But still, the Giants – like pretty much every team in the NFL at this point – aren’t a team the Bucs can enter the game feeling like a favorite against. The Giants’ defense has been far from stellar this season, allowing an average of 25.3 points per game and 362.7 yards per game, but New York has some of the most electric weapons in the game on the other side of the ball.

Bucs defensive tackle Gerald McCoy spoke about how volatile their offense really can be on Thursday. He mentioned that Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer in his eyes, identified Odell Beckham Jr. as arguably the best receiver in the league and called Saquon Barkley “incredible”, “amazing” and “spectacular.” To make things worse, the Bucs will be without defensive starters Lavonte David, Vinny Curry and Justin Evans, in addition to rookie cornerback M.J. Stewart being ruled out for another game.

Despite the Giants’ struggles, the Bucs have not proven, to me, that they are prepared to win any football games at this point. Even with Todd Monken taking over play calling duties again, the Bucs’ negative record-breaking defense has continually put the team in holes that are only exacerbated by slow starts from the offense.

Despite losing to the Steelers by three, the Bucs trailed 30-10 at halftime.

Despite losing to the Bengals by three, the Bucs trailed 27-9 at halftime.

Despite losing to the Falcons by five, the Bucs trailed 24-13 at halftime.

In their eventual 14 point loss to the Panthers, the Bucs trailed 35-14 at halftime.

Giants QB Eli Manning – Photo by Cliff Welch/PR

Some of these deficits can be attributed to kicking woes and a failure to execute in the red zone offensively, and I’m not saying Tampa Bay’s offense is a yardage-mirage that is created purely by prevent defenses, but it doesn’t matter how good your offense is if no facet of your game can allow you to compete early.

Say what you want about Eli Manning, but the offensive talent is there on the Giants’ roster, and Metlife Stadium – with a high of 42 degrees on Sunday – is not a friendly environment for visiting teams. The Bucs will need their defense to continue improving under defensive coordinator Mark Duffner, their offense to execute and score throughout the game and a little bit of Fitzmagic to come out victorious this Sunday, but just going off of the Bucs’ past performances, I don’t see that all coming together.

Jenkins’ Score Prediction: Giants 34, Buccaneers 26
Jenkins’ Pick-To-Click: TE O.J. Howard