It’s a tale as old as time; David vs Goliath, Rocky vs Apollo, Jets against the Bucs. I’m not gonna lie, the Jets aren’t playing for anything. They are currently sitting at the bottom of the AFC East with a 4-11 record, have brought a new level of suffering to their fanbase, and have made rookie quarterback Zach Wilson’s first season one to forget.
When we look at the Buccaneers, their story couldn’t be any more different. The Buccaneers have had themselves another dominating season. Although they have faced some speedbumps along the way, the Bucs are sitting pretty atop the NFC South with an awesome 11-4 record. Tom Brady has been especially spectacular this season, even entering the MVP conversation for his play.
On Sunday these two teams will clash and ring in the New Year. On one side you have the Jets, who have absolutely nothing to lose. On the other, the Buccaneers, who are looking to fine-tune their game plan heading into the playoffs. Let’s take a look at some of the keys to victory for both these football clubs.
Let’s start with the Jets, who are a mess on offense and defense. The Jets’ defense is going up against the top-ranked offense. Now, I am not one for favoritism, and I strongly believe that anything is possible. In saying that, I just don’t see how the Jets are going to stop the Buccaneers. Their pass defense is tied for 31st in the NFL, and they are going up against the top-ranked passing offense in the league. I just don’t see this working out well for the Jets defense, specifically their secondary. It would take a New Year miracle for the Jets to even have a shot at stopping the Buccaneers.
All the Buccaneers need to do in this game is play the way they did last week against the Panthers. The defense, more specifically the Bucs pass-rushing defense was especially effective last week, garnering 7 sacks and 11 QB hits. On the season the Buccaneers are top-10 in sacks, QB hits, and pressure percentage in the entire league. If their defense keeps up this momentum New York will just be another snack on their way to the big and final feast; the SuperBowl.
Aside from that, I don’t have much more analysis for this game. I mean, these are two completely different teams with two completely different months of January coming up. The fact that the Jets have nothing to lose would normally force me to consider that a tipping point in maybe them winning the game (it happened when we played the Washington Football Team) but honestly, not too hate on Jets fans, this team is too far gone.
Other than that, it should be a great game to watch and I look forward to catching the Sunday action. ‘Til next time!