Mission: Washington Redskins

The Bucs, fresh off of a victory over the Falcons, get to take a rest from division play this week. Instead, they will face off against the 5-5 Redskins. I was surprised to hear that the Redskins weren’t playing on Thanksgiving Day against the Cowboys, instead, they played them the Sunday before. The Sunday after, they get the Bucs, who were embarrassed on Thanksgiving Day last year, allowing Tony Romo to throw 5 TD passes as the Cowboys crushed them. Ah, Thanksgiving memories.

The past few weeks the Bucs have been defensive specialists, giving us all memories of the 2002 defense that won the Super Bowl. The Redskins however, are no slouch. They have a tough running game, which is lead by Clinton Portis. As a team, they are 9th in the league in first downs rushing, 6th in the league in total rushing plays, and 8th in the league in total rushing yards. The running game is their biggest threat, but their QB Jason Campbell has some tricks up his sleeve as well. He threw for 348 yards in Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys. He only has 11 passing TD’s to this point. He does have three very real threats to throw to in Antwaan Randle El, Santana Moss, and Chris Cooley. He will however, be playing against a pass defense that is 3rd in the league. The Redskins have defensive threats in London Fletcher, who leads the team with 92 tackles, and cornerback specialists like Shawn Springs.

The Bucs, coming off of a defensive showcase against the Falcons, are 2nd in the league in points scored per game (15.1), 3rd in passing yards per game (178.3), 5th in total yards per game (285.1), and are 4th in total touchdowns allowed (16). Keep in mind, these are leaguerankings. The Bucs are once again living up to their rep as a defensive powerhouse, but now they are adding some offense as well. They are 6th in the league in rushing touchdowns (10), 6th in the league in average yards per passing play (6.86), and are 11th in average yards per rushing play (4.1). The return of Michael Pittman will benefit their run game as well. With the way Earnest Graham has been playing, it looks as if Pittman might see the bench, spelling Graham of a down every now and then. The return of Michael Clayton to the Bucs offense will also be vital, as Jeff Garcia will have another target. Alex Smith seems good to go as well, meaning the Bucs went from scraping wide receivers off of the practice squad, to being fully loaded once again. The defense continues to impress, with the emergence of Barrett Ruud. The biggest question about their D this week will be about Cato June. After being arrested for a DUI, June might not receive any playing time. That is only speculation, but it is a real possibility.

The Bucs are riding a 2-game win streak, and the Redskins are riding a 2-game losing streak. A win for the Bucs will help them in their division, keeping them at least two games ahead of everyone, barring a Carolina or New Orleans win.