FAB 4. 4 Bucs Who Need To Step Up Down The Stretch

With the Bucs vs. Vikings game a week away as the team is off for the bye, let’s save the 4 Match-ups To Watch for next week’s SR’s Fab 5. Instead, let’s take a look at four Buccaneers that need to step up over the last four games of the 2020 regular season as 7-5 Tampa Bay looks to make a playoff push.

RB Leonard Fournette

Ronald Jones II has already established himself as the better running back in Tampa Bay and more deserving of the starting role. The problem is that the Bucs have fallen behind in the first quarter in each of the last four games and gotten away from the running game with the exception of the second half of the Panthers game. That means that Fournette, who has a 59.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, has taken more reps because he is deemed to be the better pass protector and receiver out of the backfield.

Bucs RB Leonard Fournette – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

But Fournette’s production has been pedestrian at best over the last month with just 46 yards rushing and one touchdown on 19 carries (2.4 avg.) with 12 catches for 72 yards (6.0 avg.) with three drops. If he’s going to see action and get some touches Fournette will have to be more productive when he’s in the game, even as a pass protector where he’s given up two hurries and a QB hit over the last four games.

WR Antonio Brown

Despite only being on the roster for the past four games Brown has been targeted 29 times and caught 20 passes for 168 yards with a disappointing 8.4-yard average and no touchdowns. Brown’s insertion into the offense has come at the expense of Scotty Miller, who was the team’s leading receiver heading into the Saints game a month ago. Miller has suited up for 10 games this year and has been targeted 43 times and produced 27 receptions for 414 yards and two touchdowns.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Miller is the team’s top deep threat, has the best average (15.3 yard), and it’s safe to say he has a better rapport with Tom Brady than Brown does at this point of the season due to their time together in the offseason, in training camp and the first half of the season. Brown, who has a 75.2 overall grade from PFF is clearly the more talented receiver and has a better resumé than Miller does, but if he’s going to steal Miller’s reps he needs to produce like the second-year speedster does.

DT Ndamukong Suh

Suh has 31 tackles this year, seven tackles for a loss, 13 QB hits, four sacks and a forced fumble this year, and he’s actually having a fine season. Last year, Suh notched 41 tackles, seven tackles for loss with four fumble recoveries, including two for touchdowns, in addition to 2.5 sacks. So Suh, who has a 59.9 overall grade from PFF in 2020, already has more sacks than he did a year ago, more forced fumbles and just as many tackles for loss.

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

So why does he need to step up? Because Suh has cooled off after a hot start to the season. While he played well against the Chiefs, finishing with five tacklesand a QB hit, Suh had just six tackles combined in the three previous games against the Saints, Panthers and Rams. He hasn’t made a splash play in over a month since he recorded a sack against the Giants on Monday Night Football. With four games left, the Bucs need him to get to the quarterback and create some takeaways, especially while making $8 million and without Vita Vea on defense.

CB Sean Murphy-Bunting

Murphy-Bunting appears to be in the midst of a sophomore slump. After earning a 66.2 overall grade from PFF last year, including a 66.4 coverage grade and a 66.8 tackle grade, last year’s second-round pick has a 52.2 overall grade this year, a 51.6 coverage grade and a woeful 28.5 tackle grade. He’s allowed a pass of at least 20 yards in each of the last three games and appears to have lost some confidence.

Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

After recording eight pass break-ups and three interceptions as a rookie last year, including a pick-six, Murphy-Bunting has allowed 46 catches for 562 yards and four touchdowns this season, including 12 in the past month for 162 yards and one touchdown. Murphy-Bunting has just one pass break-up and one interception and hasn’t gotten his hands on the ball over the last four games. With Jamel Dean expected to come back from a concussion next week and Carlton Davis III coming off a shaky game, Tampa Bay’s secondary could use a more confident, play-making Murphy-Bunting after the bye week.