The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 17 matchup will see them take on the New York Jets in an inter-conference clash. It'll be a reunion of sorts as Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are set to square off with their former rivals for the first time since moving out to Tampa Bay. Ahead of the Buccaneers-Jets game, we'll be making some Buccaneers Week 17 predictions.
Brady and the Jets have a long and one-sided history, one which predominantly favors the quarterback dating back to his days with the Patriots. While Brady has owned the Jets for practically his entire career, the Buccaneers have not. In fact, the Jets have actually gone 10-2 all-time against the Buccaneers, though they lost their most recent matchup back in 2017. Obviously, a lot has changed for Tampa since then, and they've emerged as one of the most dangerous teams in the league. The Jets on the other hand, look just as bad, if not worse, than they did in 2017.
For more insight on the Buccaneers' Week 17 matchup against the Jets, listen below:
The Jets come into this matchup fresh off a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16. In last place in the AFC East, the 4-11 Jets have nothing to play for except pride at this point. Rookie Zach Wilson will be hoping to get a couple of good games under his belt before the season ends, though it's going to be a challenge when up against the Bucs' defense. Tampa, on the other hand, enter the game after thrashing the Carolina Panthers 32-6 in Week 16.
With that in mind, here are a few Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 17 predictions for their matchup with the Jets.
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Buccaneers Week 17 Predictions
4. Antonio Brown dominates the Jets' secondary
With a multitude of injuries on the Buccaneers' offense, Tom Brady finds himself with limited weapons in the passing game. Well, he needn't worry about that in Week 17, as he'll once again have Antonio Brown to feed the majority of his targets to. After Brown went off for 10 receptions and 101 yards in his return to action in Week 16, he'll look to pick up where he left off against an abysmal Jets' secondary that gives up the fifth-most passing yards per game in the NFL. This is a dream scenario for AB, who will likely see a significant percentage of Tampa's targets and can easily turn that into a monster outing. We're predicting AB catches another 10 passes, for 100+ yards and a touchdown in this one. Good luck to the Jets' DBs matched up against him on Sunday.
3. Patriots defense forces 3 turnovers on Zach Wilson
New York Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson has had a rough season in 2021, and even up against an injury-riddled Buccaneers defense, he could have his work cut out for him. Despite Tampa likely losing Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean, as well as the loss of Shaq Barrett, the defense is still more than capable of causing headaches for Wilson. The rookie has struggled with accuracy in 2021, though he's now gone three games in a row without an interception. The Buccaneers will look to put an end to that streak, and add to the 11 interceptions he's thrown through as many games this season. If the Bucs can keep Wilson out of his comfort zone, you can almost guarantee he's going to make some errant throws. At that point, it'll be up to the Bucs defense to capitalize.
2. Rob Gronkowski fixes his drops problem
Rob Gronkowski hasn't had the greatest few weeks. He was called out by head coach Bruce Arians after his performance on Sunday during which he dropped a pair of key passes. Arians didn't hesitate to point the finger at Gronkowski, who is typically extremely steady-handed. Well, with Gronk having been plagued by drops over the past few weeks, he'll have the chance to rectify that and prove his dominance over the Jets in Week 17. Brady will likely be looking his way frequently as he'll pose a matchup nightmare for the Jets' defense. With plenty of targets likely to come his way, Gronkowski will have ample opportunity to make up for last week's display, and he should be able to fight his way into the end zone for a touchdown against his old rivals.
1. Tom Brady throws 4 TDs and 300+ yards in vintage display
Jets fans likely still have nightmares from all the times Tom Brady has ruined their Sunday. Well, while he's certainly older and will be sporting a different uniform, his play on the field has stayed at the level that it was in New England. That is extremely worrisome for the Jets, who have a history of getting rolled over by Tom Brady-led squads. Across 36 career matchups against the Jets in the regular season, Brady has a superb record of 29-7, with a remarkable 57 touchdown passes and just 15 interceptions. He'll look to build on his stellar numbers against the Jets with what should be another vintage display on Sunday. Expect a performance to the tune of 4 touchdown passes and over 300 yards from TB12 against his former rivals.
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