NFC Game Of The Week
Kansas City Chiefs at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Chiefs: The success after the bye week continued for Andy Reid. They had a huge game on Sunday night in Las Vegas that was back and forth. Give the Raiders credit because they were in the game all the way until the end. After that touchdown to Jason Witten, I said to myself, they gave that opposing quarterback way too much time for my liking and eventually paid for it. The Kansas City Chiefs sit at 9-1 on the year and in cruise control of the AFC West. I don’t think there’s a single defense that can truly limit this offense. From a guy who’s played on the defensive side, I know preparing to play this offense is a challenge. You go in wanting to take one guy away and bam, there’s someone else who’s wide open! The champs are looking to win again on Sunday in Tampa Bay.
Bucs: I didn’t like how they played on Monday night. Let me dive right in and tell you what disappointed me. First, the defense played way too soft, especially in the secondary. They played way too much zone for my liking and it hurt them. Both Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods had a field day against them with each receiver having double digit receptions. The biggest thing I took away was the offensive play calling and how aggressive it was. They kept trying to take too many shots down the field. However, when you look at the Buccaneers two touchdown passes, those were shorter passes. The Tampa Bay offensive line has been hit or miss all season. They were crushed in week 11 by the Rams defensive front the entire game. Sunday, they’ll look to regroup.
Chiefs X-Factor: Chris Jones– He’s the ultimate difference maker for their defense. They don’t win the Super Bowl without him last season. When Chris has it going, this defense takes after him. Let him along with Frank Clark lead the pass rush.
Bucs X-Factor: Ronald Jones– When you feed him the football, good things will happen. On Sunday, he’ll be counted on more than ever to help with time of possession. He can also help open up this passing game furthermore and secondly, the Chiefs struggle to stop the run.
Final Thoughts: This is the fourth meeting between Patrick Mahomes and TomBrady. I’m all for an exciting quarterback matchup. If the Bucs play zone as they did against the Rams last week, they will be in for a long day on Sunday. You can bend Kansas City, but they don’t break. Look for the Chiefs to attack and push Brady around. Can Tampa get after Mahomes in this one?
Prediction: Chiefs 30 Bucs 21
