To say that the Dallas Cowboys (8-6) need a bounce back game this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-9) is an understatement. The Cowboys had a ton of momentum going into last week's game against the Indianapolis Colts coming off a five game winning streak and dramatic win against their division rival the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime the Sunday before.
We know what happened to the Colts and it should have come as a surprise. The Cowboys had been playing with a lot of emotion over the previous few weeks after getting big wins over the New Orleans Saints and the Eagles to give them a commanding lead in the NFC East.
Like last week, the Cowboys face an opportunity to win and clinch the division this week against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that has struggled this year, especially on the defensive side of the football.
“Famous Jameis” or “Lameous Jameis?”
Ok, lameous isn't really a word, but in order to make it rhyme, I had to channel good ol' Dr Seuss.
The on again, off again relationship that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had with Jameis Winston over the course of the season could be the storyline for a bad CW drama. I mean, they've gone back and forth between he and backup Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick so much it's hard to really get a handle on how they feel about their number one overall pick. And for good reason, Winston's been bad in the games that he's played.
In nine games, seven of which he started, Winston's thrown 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Those 13 INTs are tied for second in the NFL this season. Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL in interceptions and he's played in 14 games this season. That just gives you an indication as to how bad Winston's been with the football.
Now he's always capable of having a really good game, like he did during a three game stretch weeks 11 through 13 where he threw six touchdowns to only one interception as Tampa Bay won three in a row. During that same stretch, Winston had a quarterback rating greater than 114 in each game. Over the last five weeks, Jameis Winston has thrown eight touchdowns and three interceptions. Although they've lost their last two games, averaging only 13 points per game in the losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have played two really good defenses in the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens.
It's evident that Jameis Winston will turn the ball over, but will the Cowboys be able to force him into situations where he throws the ball to the team with a star on its helmet?
Defense Returns to Dominance?
There's been a lot of talk this week about the offensive ineptitude that was on display in Indianapolis last Sunday, and rightfully so. It was a poor performance that made Cowboys Nation shudder. They desperately need to rebound this week against a poor Tampa Bay defense.
Speaking of defense, the Cowboys defense didn't do a whole lot last Sunday either. In fact, they were down right bad.
The Colts were better at the line of scrimmage in both the run and pass game and Andrew Luck was able to make enough plays against the Cowboys secondary, including first time Pro Bowl selection Byron Jones.
The tackling was about as poor as I can remember under a Rod Marinelli coached defense and they were unable to slow down Marlon Mack in the running game.
Pretty much everything the defense is really good at; stopping the run, tackling, pass coverage, they were really bad at against the Colts. Just as important as it is for the Cowboys offense to bounce back this week, the defense needs to do the same.
They're a unit that takes a lot of pride in imposing its will, especially in the running game, and they weren't good.
The Tampa Bay Offense has some play makers, in particular Mike Evans, and they pose some problems, but it's a team that should allow the Cowboys to get back on track on both sides of the football.
Playoffs?!?!
Since the win over the Philadelphia Eagles a couple weeks ago, the Cowboys playoff scenarios have been pretty simple. Win and they clinch the NFC East. Losses by both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins and you clinch the NFC East.
Well, the Eagles and Redskins didn't cooperate with the Cowboys plans of clinching the NFC east last week, and so we sit here in week 16 with the same scenarios.
The Cowboys seem destined to make the tournament this season, but they still have to make it happen and there is no time like the present.
Get this win this week and use week 17 as an opportunity to rest your team that has been struggling with a lot of injuries this season, especially along the offensive line.
The Cowboys have a formula that could do some damage in the playoffs if they're healthy enough to make it happen. Getting Zack Martin back this week and continuing to ramp up Sean Lee will only help the Cowboys against the Bucs this week and help them make a run in the playoffs.
Prediction
On paper, this looks like a game the Cowboys should win pretty handily, yet because of the inefficiency of the offense to consistently score points in the red zone this is going to be a close game.
The Cowboys win and quite possibly lead throughout the game, but because they'll settle for field goals, I see Tampa Bay being able to keep it close.
Dallas Cowboys 23 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16
Who you got? Let us know in the comment section!
