FAB 3. Rewind Week 3 – Fast Forward Week 4

Not having open locker room at One Buccaneer Place and restricted media access to players this year due to COVID-19 has forced me to do less feature segments on players and more analysis on the games. So I’m using the Fab 3 section – called Rewind – Fast Forward – to share some observations from the Bucs’ last game as well as my analysis in previewing the next one. Enjoy.

REWIND: WEEK 3 AT DENVER

• Denver’s Elijah Wilkinson is one of the worst right tackles in the NFL and was beaten for a sack by Tampa Bay outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett for one of Barrett’s two sacks on Sunday. Wilkinson suffered a leg injury during the game and was placed on injured reserve. That meant that former Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson stepped into the starting lineup for Denver in Thursday night’s game against the New York Jets.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Getty Images

• Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady had his most productive day in red and pewter, passing for 297 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions at Denver in the team’s 28-10 victory. Brady now completed 65.1 percent of his passes for 753 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions through three games. Brady is on pace to throw for 4,016 yards with 32 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions this season.

• The Bucs held the Broncos to just 42 yards rushing on 14 carries (3.0 avg.) last week. That performance allowed Tampa Bay to rise up in the NFL run defense rankings to No. 3, allowing just 211 rushing yards with an average of 2.9 yards per carry. The Bucs are allowing only 70.3 yards per game, which is lower than the 73.8 yards per carry that the team allowed last year.

• Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea just abused Broncos rookie center Lloyd Cushenberry III in his match-up on Sunday, earning an overall grade of 86.5 from Pro Football Focus and an 87.7 pass rush grade. Vea had four tackles, one sack, one QB hit and two pressures on Sunday and word is that Cushenberry plans to go to court for a restraining order against Vea for the rematch four years from now.

FAST FORWARD: WEEK 4 VS. LOS ANGELES

• Just because Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles blitzed the heck out of backup quarterback Jeff Driskel last week in Tampa Bay’s win at Denver doesn’t mean that he’ll do the same against Los Angeles quarterback Justin Herbert, who will be making his third NFL start against the Bucs on Sunday. Herbert, who was the Chargers’ first-round pick, is 0-2 as a starter in close losses to Kansas City and Carolina.

Chargers QB Justin Herbert – Photo by: Getty Images

“We don’t look at young or old quarterbacks,” Bowles said. “We just look at the team we’re playing and try to stop some of the things they do. I think he does everything well in their system. He can run. He can throw the ball. He makes great reads. He’s a first-round pick for a reason. He’s 6-foot-5 and he’s athletic. We know we have our work cut out for us. Defense isn’t as easy as ‘blitz the young guy. Every week is different for us. We can dial it up or we can dial it back depending on who we’re playing and how we game plan.

“He’s got two games under his belt and I think he has a lot of poise in the pocket. He can make some great throws and he definitely doesn’t feel pressure around him. He keeps his head down the field. He can run with the football. He makes great reads. I think he’s off to a great start.”

Herbert has completed 69.1 percent of his passes for 641 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions this year. The Oregon product has passed for over 300 yards in each of his two starts.

• Tampa Bay linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David will be taking on another multi-purpose threat in L.A.’s Austin Ekeler. The Bucs did a pretty good job against New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara and Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey in Weeks 1 and 2, and Ekeler might be even more dangerous. Ekeler has rushed for 236 yards and one touchdown on 47 carries (5.0 avg.) and has caught all 16 passes thrown his way for 142 yards (8.9 avg.).

Last year, Ekeler rushed for 557 yards and three TDs while averaging 4.2 yards per carry, and caught 92 passes for 993 yards and eight scores. Ekeler was so good in 2019 that the Chargers gave him a four-year, $24.5 million contract extension this offseason and parted ways with starting running back Melvin Gordon.

Bucs CB Parnell Motley and WR Tyler Johnson – Photo by: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• With Chris Godwin and Scotty Miller likely out for Sunday’s game against the Chargers, look for Bucs fifth-round pick Tyler Johnson to get more playing time this week – even with the return of Justin Watson, who missed last Sunday’s game at Denver due to a shoulder injury. Johnson has made strides behind the scenes and saw playing time ahead of Jaydon Mickens, who saw two snaps on offense, and Cyril Grayson, who was inactive. In fact, Johnson’s 21 snaps were just a few behind Miller’s 29 last week in Denver.

• Tampa Bay is thrilled with the progress that outside linebacker Anthony Nelson has made over the last two games. Nelson played a career-high 27 snaps on Sunday and had two tackles and a QB hit that resulted in an interception by linebacker Lavonte David. Look for him to play 20-plus snaps against the Chargers on Sunday to gain more experience.