Ravens — Buccaneers Week 8 Pregame Notes: Tampa Bay Marred By Injuries
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The Ravens are playing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team on Thursday night that resembles a MASH unit.
BALTIMORE — The Ravens are playing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team on Thursday night that resembles a MASH unit.
Tampa Bay has already ruled out seven players — tight end Cameron Brate, cornerbacks Carlton Davis III and Sean Murphy-Bunting, wide receiver Russell Gage Jr., guard Luke Goedeke, defensive end Akiem Hicks and safety Antoine Winfield Jr.
That means the Buccaneers won’t have a healthy scratch for the game.
Tampa Bay wide receivers Mike Evans (ankle) and Julio Jones (knee) were both listed as questionable, and if they cannot play, the Ravens would have a serious advantage.
The Ravens should be able to take advantage of the short-handed roster, especially in the secondary. Lamar Jackson could have numerous opportunities to throw the ball downfield.
Defensive end Calais Campbell is the only Ravens player who has been ruled out for the Week 8 game.
Buccaneers Rushing Woes
Jackson has amassed more rushing yards (510) over seven games than Tampa Bay has as a team (451). Jackson also has 82 fewer attempts.
The Buccaneers’ running attack is ranked dead last in the NFL, averaging just 64.4 yards per game.
Leonard Fournette has 362 yards on the ground. He’s a downhill runner looking to have a breakout game this season.
Brady Vs. Ravens
Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has gone 6-2 against the Ravens over his career, throwing for 2,177 yards with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, However, Brady is just 2-2 against Baltimore in the postseason. He threw for 1,080 yards with six touchdowns and eight interceptions in those four playoff games.
This year, Brady has been uneven this season, throwing for 1,942 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception.
A loss would drop Tampa Bay to 3-5 and they would have lost five of their past six games. Brady has never lost five of six games in his career,
Ravens Need to Finish Strong
The Ravens have squandered leads of 10 or more points in three of their first six games. Jackson has thrown four of his six interceptions in the fourth quarter. The Ravens have also allowed an NFL-worst 856 yards and 10 touchdowns in the final quarter.
It’s no secret that Baltimore has to do better job finishing games.