Chiefs-Buccaneers: 5 questions with the enemy

Oct 1, 2022 - 4:35 PM

On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Tampa Bay is favored to win. We welcome Gil Garcia— our sister SBNation site covering the Buccaneers — for Five Questions with the Enemy.

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1) The Buccaneers’ offense has struggled at times this season. Why is that?

There’s a lot happening right now for the Bucs offensively. Injuries are the biggest problems — especially along the offensive line. But you mix that in with dropped passes from receivers who are playing in place of injured receivers and you have a recipe for disaster. With poor play from the offensive line and wide receivers, you get the inability to convert on third downs and poor red-zone percentages.

2) Who has been the standout for the Buccaneers this season?

I would have to go with linebacker Devin White. He has really come on strong this season so far — and winning the NFC Player of the Month award is no fluke. White has been all over offensive backfields and has been quickly bringing down ball carriers. So far, he is back to playing at the level the coaches know he can play at.

3) This is the sixth encounter between Brady and Mahomes. Do you see any similarities between the two players?

Honestly, the main similarity I see is how cerebral they are. They both quickly dissect defenses, but Mahomes us the amazing ability to quickly leave the pocket — even when it starts to collapse. Both make smart decisions and very rarely make mistakes.

4) The Bucs' defense looks better than ever. Where can they cause the Chiefs (mainly Mahomes) issues?

Head coach Todd Bowles has always been able to disguise the defensive looks and the players are doing a great job of not making mental errors. This season, we have seen players doing their jobs more consistently so far — and that is across the board. The big improvements — at least in my opinion — have been the ability to get into the backfield of offenses and the play out of the secondary. But they will face a huge task this Sunday. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the challenge.

5) At this writing, the Chiefs are 1-point favorites. Do you agree with this? How do you think the game will go?

I don’t agree with it to be honest. In my opinion it should be higher. It’s not a knock on the Buccaneers’ defense not being able keep up with the Chiefs offense. Rather it’s the offense I still question. I predicted in our weekly predictions piece at Bucs Nation that Mahomes will have himself a great game to the tune of 300-plus yards and four touchdowns. I can see Kansas City running away with this one.

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Authors note: On behalf of Chiefs Kingdom, I want to thank Gil for joining us during what must have been a difficult week.

Be sure to check out the answers I gave to their questions by clicking here.