Matchups To Watch: Bucs Offense vs. Browns Defense

Here are the five key matchups to watch on offense when the Bucs take on the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday.

LT Donovan Smith vs. DE Myles Garrett

Garrett, a two-time All-Pro and a three-time Pro Bowler, is one of the league’s best and most consistent pass rushers. It’s no surprise that he leads the Browns with 8.5 sacks this year. In order for the Browns’ suspect defense to have success against a Bucs offense that appears to be on the upswing, it’s important for Garrett to pressure Tom Brady and ultimately sack him. Garrett has already sacked Brady once back in 2019 and would love to get another trophy sack for his résumé,.

Smith is coming off his best season in 2021, but has not been nearly as consistent this year. The eight-year pro has slipped back into some bad habits where his effort has waned at times. That has lead to too many sacks allowed and penalties. Smith had one of his worst games against the Rams in Week 9, but rebounded with a better effort against the Seahawks in Germany. Garrett will be Smith’s toughest task of the year and he’ll need to be on top of his game in Cleveland.
ADVANTAGE: Garrett

QB Tom Brady vs. LB Deion Jones

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Jones has plenty of experience playing against the Bucs from his days with the Falcons. In fact, it was Jones who had a game-winning pick-six against Jameis Winston in overtime in the 2019 season finale that helped usher in the Tom Brady era in Tampa Bay. Jones is a great athlete, who is trying to get his career back on track after a hot start in Atlanta. The former LSU star made the Pro Bowl in 2017, and has 1.5 sacks in four games in Cleveland since being acquired by the Browns in a trade.

Brady had one of his best performances of the season in Germany against the Seahawks. Although he threw an interception, Brady also tossed a pair of touchdowns in a 21-16 win that got the Bucs to 5-5 on the year before the bye week. Brady will have to be wary of Jones blitzing the A gap. But more importantly, the 45-year old QB will have to outwit the athletic linebacker at the line of scrimmage by getting the Bucs offense into the right play with the correct pre-snap reads.
ADVANTAGE: Brady

RB Rachaad White vs. LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah

Owusu-Koramoah is one of the most athletic linebackers in the league. He’s a bit undersized at 6-foot-2, 221 pounds, but his speed and athleticism are top-notch, as are his coverage skills. The Browns usually deploy Owusu-Koramoah to cover backs out of the backfield, but Cleveland’s other outside linebacker, Sione Takitaki will also be charged with covering White on occasion on Sunday. Both Owusu-Koramoah and Takitaki will have to be stout in run defense, as well as staying with White in coverage in the passing game.

The arrow is pointing up for White, the team’s third-round draft pick. He’s equally adept at running and catching, and came through with his first 100-yard rushing game against the Seahawks in Germany. Leonard Fournette suffered a hip pointer injury and that led to a career-high 22 carries. With Fournette still sore even after the bye week, White might be pressed into a similar type game where he’s taking on the lion’s share of carries and catches out of the backfield. With wind and rain in the forecast, White will need to prove he can be a mudder-type runner on Sunday.
ADVANTAGE: Push

TE Cade Otton vs. SS Grant Delpit

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Delpit leads the Browns in tackles, which isn’t ideal. When safeties lead their teams in tackles that means the front seven isn’t doing its job. In his second season, Delpit hasn’t been the playmaker that the Browns were hoping he would be. He had just one interception, a sack and a forced fumble last year. This year he has just one interception through 10 games and has struggled in coverage down the seam. Delpit will need to step up his play against the Bucs and come up with a takeaway for the Browns to have a chance to win.

Otton’s confidence has grown each week, as has his role in Tampa Bay’s passing game. Otton had a 28-yard catch against the Rams and then had a 25-yarder against the Seahawks in helping to stretch the field vertically. Otton is averaging close to 11 yards per catch during his rookie season, and sooner or later he’ll come through with his first 100-yard game. That could come in Cleveland where he figures to be a high-volume target due to the fact that the Bucs could be throwing shorter passes due to the wind and rain that’s expected to occur.
ADVANTAGE: Push

WR Mike Evans vs. CB Martin Emerson

The Browns may want to put an experienced cornerback like Denzel Ward on Evans rather than a rookie. But Emerson has actually proven to be the highest-graded cornerback on Cleveland’s roster with a 75.7 PFF grade compared to Ward’s 49.7 grade. And at 6-foot-2, Emerson has the length to better match up with Evans than the 5-foot-11 Ward. Emerson has yet to record his first career NFL interception, but does have seven pass breakups and a sack this year. The Browns may have found a gem in the Mississippi State product.

Evans is less than 400 yards away from his ninth-straight 1,000-yard season with seven games to go. If he stays healthy it’s a safe bet that Evans hits that mark once again. Where Evans has come up short this season is touchdown production. Evans had 13 TDs in 2020 and a franchise-record 14 scores last year. But he only has three this year and the team could really benefit from him finding the end zone once or twice in Cleveland. That would also help Evans’ chances of making the Pro Bowl for a second straight year.
ADVANTAGE: Evans

Matchups To Watch: Bucs Defense vs. Browns Offense

Here are the five key matchups to watch on defense when the Bucs battle the Browns offense on Sunday.

ILB Devin White vs. RB Nick Chubb

Chubb is one of the NFL’s elite running backs. The three-time Pro Bowler is the NFL’s fourth-leading rusher with 923 yards and 11 touchdowns. At 5-foot-11, 227 pounds, Chubb has the size and speed to either break tackles or elude would-be tacklers. Chubb can also be a factor in the Browns’ screen game, as he has 16 catches for 136 yards in 2022. The Browns commit to the running game like the Ravens and the Falcons do, and Chubb is a major part of their offensive attack. Stopping Chubb will be Todd Bowles’ primary focus.

White is coming off a nine-tackle, two-sack, forced fumble performance against Seattle that earned him NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He told the media earlier in the week that this would be a 15-tackle game for him facing the Browns’ downhill run game. Consistency has been a problem for White this season. But when he’s on top of his game, as he was in Weeks 1, 2 and 10, he’s one of the best linebackers in the league. Can White put two great games together back-to-back? That will be key if the Bucs want to continue their winning streak to three games.
ADVANTAGE: Push

CB Jamel Dean vs. WR Amari Cooper

Bucs CB Jamel Dean – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Cooper is still one of the best receivers in the game with 50 catches for 698 yards and seven touchdowns. Although he hasn’t had a great quarterback throwing him the ball this season, Cooper has been the Browns’ primary target in the passing game. No other Browns receiver or tight end has more than one touchdown. Cooper has been a Buc-killer dating back to his days in Oakland. He also had a big game against the Bucs last year when he played for the Cowboys. If Cooper goes off on Sunday, the Browns have a good chance of winning.

While Carlton Davis III has been paid like a top cover cornerback, Dean is actually the Bucs’ best cover corner this year. He only has two interceptions this year, and they came in Week 2. Yet Dean has also only given up two touchdowns this year, with both coming in Week 3 against Green Bay. Both Dean and Davis will get their shot at Cooper on Sunday. While Davis got his pay day this past offseason, Dean is in line for his during the 2023 offseason. He’s having a great contract year so far.
ADVANTAGE: Push

RG Wyatt Teller vs. DT Akiem Hicks

With center Ethan Pocic on injured reserve with a knee injury, Teller is the highest-rated offensive lineman in Cleveland with a 77.6 grade and a 79.9 run-blocking grade. Running the ball is what the Browns like to do, and it may be easier without Vita Vea in the lineup if he can’t play on Sunday with a foot injury. The 6-foot-4, 314-pound Teller is a physical force at the line of scrimmage and is better in the run game than he is in the pass game. The Bucs will try to stop the run and force the Browns to pass, which will put Teller at a slight disadvantage if that happens.

Hicks will need to step up if the Bucs have to play the Browns without Vita Vea. He’s returned to the lineup after recovering from his foot injury and helped the Bucs’ run defense. Vea’s play has improved with Hicks next to him and so has the play of inside linebacker Devin White. Hicks is still looking for his first sack of the season, and that could come this Sunday if the Bucs can stop the Browns’ ground assault and force Jacoby Brissett to pass the ball.
ADVANTAGE: Push

DB Antoine Winfield Jr. vs. WR David Bell

Bucs DB Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Bell is the Browns’ slot receiver and he wins with size and physicality rather than speed and quickness. The 2022 third-round pick is averaging a pedestrian 9.1 yards per catch with 16 receptions for 146 yards. He has trouble separating due to his sub-par speed, but if it’s rainy and windy in Cleveland on Sunday, Bell could excel if he can be a “mudder” and get some tough yards after the catch. He’ll have a size advantage over the 5-foot-9 Winfield and he’ll need to use that size to box out the Bucs’ top defensive back to make the catch.

Winfield is the best defensive player in Tampa Bay. He has excelled in the slot this year as a cornerback in nickel defense and a free safety in base defense. Winfield has an interception, a forced fumble and three sacks from the slot. He has great instincts and is physical enough to match up with taller receivers like the 6-foot-1, 212-pound Bell. Winfield could also be used as a blitzer out of the slot on Sunday where he could get his fourth sack of the season.
ADVANTAGE: Winfield

OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka vs. LT Jedrick Wills Jr.

Wills, a first-round pick in 2020, has not played nearly as well as Tristan Wirfs, who was selected two spots later by Tampa Bay. He’s given up four sacks and 26 pressures this season. Wills is a very inconsistent player in both the running game and in pass protection. At 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, Wills has good size and decent athleticism. If he could play more consistently Wills could live up to his potential. Usually, he’s the weak link on Cleveland’s offensive line, but with starting center Ethan Pocic out, it’s backup center Hjalte Froholdt.

Tryon-Shoyinka is starting to come into his own in his second season in the league. The Bucs’ former first-round pick has also struggled with inconsistency this year. He has 3.5 sacks on the year, but probably should have a few more. Tryon-Shoyinka has the speed and athleticism to beat Wills in pass rush situations, but the weather conditions and muddy field may actually give Wills the advantage. Whichever player is more consistent down in and down out will be the winner of this one-on-one matchup.
ADVANTAGE: Push