The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a tough task on Sunday. They're looking to move to 1-4, but they'll try and do it against a stout 3-2 Pittsburgh Steelers team heading into Tampa Bay.
The Bucs got their first win of the year against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5, but now, they'll have another test. Here are three questions we have for head coach Todd Bowles' squad as Sunday rolls around:
Can the Bucs Stop Jaylen Warren?
It's rare that one player leads a team in both rushing and receiving, but Jaylin Warren is a rare player. Warren has 410 yards and one touchdown on the ground, but he also has 230 yards and a touchdown receiving, too.
At +0.131 EPA/play, Warren is the sixth-best running back in the NFL by that metric, and he's slated to do some serious damage on Sunday. The Bucs have to know where he is at all times and be able to contain him on the ground and through the air, and Bowles knows very well how good Warren is.
“I mean, he's been playing outstanding at running, blocking and pass receiving. You really don't see [all of that] from one guy," Bowles said. "He's doing everything. He's a very good pass protector. He's an outstanding runner, and he can catch the ball very well, and he makes you miss. [If] you miss a tackle, a guy like that, if you don't wrap up, he's going to take it to the house. So, he's been playing great football.”
Can the Bucs Get Their Own Running Game Going?
Bucky Irving went off for 165 yards against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night. He probably won't do that again (probably) — but how well will he and the Bucs do?
The Steelers give up 103.4 rushing yards per game on average. They rank 13th there and 17th in the NFL in yards per rush (4.0), so they're a decent run-stopping unit. Tampa Bay had a great game in Week 5 to inflate the average, but they're fifth in the NFL in yards per rush (4.9) and they're seventh in rush yards per game (133.0).
If Tampa Bay is going to win this game against the Steelers, they'll simply have to get the ground game rolling. Irving instills a lot of confidence that this will happen, but it remains to be seen until game day comes around.
Can the Bucs Get to Aaron Rodgers?
Aaron Rodgers, so far this season, has a sack rate of 6.97%, the 11th-most-sacked quarterback in the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can't really get to the quarterback at all — the entire defense has a sack rate of 3.49%, which is good for 30th in the league.
Rodgers is largely immobile at his age, but the Bucs haven't been able to generate a pass rush at all. It will be Rodgers' instinct to get rid of the ball quickly, which will make it harder for Tampa Bay to bring him down. That obviously includes the edge rushers, but interior pass rushers like Calijah Kancey could have a day against Rodgers — if the middle collapses, Rodgers has nowhere to go.
Tampa Bay has been trying to figure out its pass rush for years now. Rodgers is a prime candidate to do so, but can players like Kancey, Yaya Diaby and Rueben Bain Jr. get home on Sunday?
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