Opponent Profile: Cowboys Try To Save Season Against Buccaneers
By Shawn S. Lealos
Just when it looked like the Dallas Cowboys sixth straight loss marked the end of their season, there is still a glimmer of hope. This weekend the Cowboys play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tony Romo returns for the next game against the Miami Dolphins. Honestly, looking at the Cowboys remaining schedule, they could finish 8-8 unless they also upset either the Carolina Panthers or Green Bay Packers. With only six NFC teams with a winning record, that might be enough. But, before looking ahead, the Buccaneers are next up and here is what fans need to know.
Season Record
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of 10 teams in the NFC without a winning record, sitting at 3-5, and their three wins either equals or is better than six other teams. One of those teams is the 2-6 Dallas Cowboys. While the Cowboys have not won a game since Week 2, the Buccaneers picked up a huge upset win two weeks ago against the once undefeated Atlanta Falcons. This means that, no matter their record or past failures, this is not a team that the Cowboys should overlook.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers On Offense
James Winston is a rookie quarterback, so there will be ups and downs in his performance. In the team's loss to the New York Giants, Winston played well enough to win, but his teammates let him down. Doug Martin, who looks revitalized, had a season low of 31 rushing yards and starting wide receiver Mike Evans dropped five passes that he should have caught. The Buccaneers won't win games when their best players make mistakes like that.
Winston has played well this season, and isn't turning the ball over. He has thrown for 1,897 yards and 10 touchdowns this season, while running for 115 yards and three more touchdowns on the ground. The top draft pick is looking good for Tampa Bay, who have been trying to find a franchise quarterback for a long time.
In 2014, Doug Martin lost his starting running back job but got a chance to reclaim it this season and has revived his career. After running for a total of 494 yards in 2014, Martin has 643 rushing yards through eight games this season, with three touchdowns. That equals his touchdown output from the last two seasons combined. At this pace, he will reach 1,300 rushing yards on the season, which is only 154 less than his fantastic rookie year.
The receivers have been shaky, though. Mike Evans is the star of the receiver corps, but he has 32 receptions in in 72 targets, which is a poor 44 percent completion percentage. He has a team high 538 yards, but has only scored one touchdown. It is an inconsistent performance that is hurting the Buccaneers. One-time star Vincent Jackson has missed two straight games with knee problems.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers On Defense
If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers want to win more games this season, they need to give up less points. They only have one game where they gave up less than 20 points, a loss to the Houston Texans. In their five losses, they gave up an average of 32.2 points a game. In their three wins, they gave up an average of 23.3 points. Both of those numbers are dangerous against the better teams in the NFL. While the Cowboys are relying on backup quarterback Matt Cassel, they proved against the Eagles last week that they could score.
On the season, Tampa Bay ranks a nice 10th in total defense, 11th against the pass and 14th against the rush. It isn't like they are letting teams roll all over them. They only surrender 108.4 yards a game on the ground and 241 passing yards a game. However, they rank 28th in points allowed per game, which means that Tampa Bay gives up too many big plays. It also means that Tampa Bay is not taking advantage of the turnover ratio.
The Buccaneers have turned over the ball 14 times, seven by interception and seven by fumble. Winston is protecting the ball better, and that might help down the road because Tampa Bay has also recovered nine fumbles and intercepted six passes on the season. The leaders here are Kwon Alexander, who ranks second in tackles along with two interceptions and one fumble recovery, and Chris Conte, who ranks third in tackles, with one interceptions and two forced fumbles.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Players To Watch
James Winston: If anyone want to know why the Buccaneers have won two of their last four games, look no further than the improvement of first round draft pick James Winston. Even in the loss this past weekend to the New York Giants, Winston looked good, completing 19 of 36 passes for 249 yards. While that completion percentage could have been better, there were a lot of drops from his receivers. Winston has had his ups and downs, but he has three games with a rating over 100 and another that sat at 85. He is getting better and the sky is the limit. He has not thrown an interception in the last four games.
Kwon Alexander: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker won the NFL Rookie of the Week honors last week after the Buccaneers beat the Falcons in overtime. In that game, he had 11 tackles, one interception, and some game-saving tackles late. On the season, he has 59 total tackles, 34 of them solo, as well as one sack, two inteceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He has also recorded seven passes defended.
Outlook
After suffering six straight losses to some pretty tough teams, the Dallas Cowboys finally have a team that they can beat. After losing by one point to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and in overtime to the always tough Eagles, Dallas has to welcome a game with the team that finished 2014 with the worst record in the NFL. This is not a gimme win, but there is no reason that the Cowboys can't pull off a win in this game.
Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.