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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers barged into the Divisional Round of the 2022 NFL Playoffs after sending the Philadelphia Eagles home last week. Now, they are about to face a tougher foe in the form of the Los Angeles Rams, who beat the Buccaneers earlier this season. With that said, it’s time to check out four Buccaneers NFC Divisional Round predictions in their game against the visiting Rams.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Divisional Round Playoff Predictions
- Tom Brady passes for 400 yards and three touchdowns
Brady will eventually slow down, but boy has he done an insanely good job at extending his battle against the proverbial Father Time. He is clearly in the MVP conversation after finishing the regular season as the league leader in both passing yards (5.316) and touchdowns thrown (43). He also had a 68.2 quarterback rating, second-best overall. At 44 years old, Brady manhandled the Philadelphia Eagles' defense, going 29/37 for 271 passing yards and a couple of touchdowns without an interception in the Buccaneers' 31-15 home win in the Wild Card round. The Rams' stop unit is a much different animal than that of Philly's.
Since the last time Brady and the Buccaneers shared the field with Los Angeles, the Rams have added Von Miller and Eric Weddle to their defense that is fourth in total Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), so far this season, and that buffed-up stop unit is certainly a threat to Brady and Tampa Bay's attack. However, in the playoffs, there's really nothing that can be absolutely ruled out in terms of what Brady could do in the pocket.
Sure, racking up over 400 passing yards and tossing at least three touchdowns against the Rams, who held the Arizona Cardinals to only 0/9 on third downs last week, is a tough ask even for a future Hall of Famer in Brady, but considering the body of work the Bucs this season, and the propensity of Tampa Bay's defense to reward Brady with short-field opportunities, the GOAT might just compile eye-popping numbers on Sunday.
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3. Gio Bernard racks up at least 9 receptions — again
Back in Week 3's loss to the Rams, Bernard shined with his pass-catching abilities. You can bet that Brady has not forgotten about how reliable Bernard's hands were in that contest in which the veteran running back tied Mike Evans for the most targets (10) and also tied Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp for the game-high in receptions with nine. That was quite the accomplishment for Bernard, considering that the Buccaneers still had a healthy Chris Godwin at the time.
With an upgraded Rams defense ahead plus the facts that Godwin won't be available and Antonio Brown is no longer part of the team, the Buccaneers might have to be more creative on offense, and that would mean a significant role for Bernard — even with Leonard Fournette all set to return after missing the Wild Card game due to hip and knee issues. Against the Eagles last week, Bernard got seven looks from Brady and converted five catches for 39 receiving yards.
2. Gronk does Gronk stuff
If the Buccaneers are to beat Los Angeles, they are going to need Rob Gronkowski to be Rob Gronkowski. The Rams are one of the best teams in terms of limiting opposing tight ends this season (LA allows just 6.8 fantasy points per game to opposing TEs this season) but not all tight ends are Gronk. And with the roster situation of the Buccaneers, there’s got to be plenty of opportunities for Gronkowski to wreak havoc downfield. In the previous meeting with the Rams, Gronkowski recorded four receptions on eight targets for 55 receiving yards. He's already made noise in the playoffs when he went 5/6 for 31 receiving yards and a touchdown versus the Eagles. Gronkowski's reception line is at 5.5.reception.
1. Buccaneers win and cover
After the Rams obliterated the Arizona Cardinals on both ends of the field in the Wild Card round, it’s easy to get convinced that they are going to take down Brady and the Bucs this coming Sunday. But the Bucs (-3 vs. LA) are the home tear. Basic stats tell that the Bucs are a top-five team offensively and defensively. Advanced stats even has Tampa Bay as the best offensive team in the league, as the Bucs are tops in offense DVOA. But the biggest reason the Bucs are going to come away with a win and cover against the Rams is that Tampa Bay has Tom Brady and the LA has Matthew Stafford, who’s been shaky in the past few games, as he’s got picked eight times in the last four Rams games.
