The Indianapolis Colts (5-5) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) are set to battle it out Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium in what will be their first meeting since the 2021 season.
As the Colts come out of the bye week looking to build a three-game winning streak, the Bucs are looking to end their unfortunate ways after losing five of their last six games.
Before the matchup gets underway, we caught up with Bucs Wire editor River Wells to get the scoop on the big storylines surrounding Tampa Bay through the first half of the season.
We went behind enemy lines to ask Rivers five questions about this Week 12 matchup:
1
After starting 3-1, what has led to the Bucs losing five of their last six?
River Wells: “The team has gotten worse in a number of areas. The pass defense has deteriorated and the team is far less disciplined, amassing a large number of penalties, and the offense is still hitting roadblocks this far into the year that go beyond growing pains from the beginning. Coaching is also far less than ideal, and many Bucs fans aren’t super happy with Todd Bowles.”
2
Is there a future with Baker Mayfield or do they need to focus on finding that cornerstone piece?
River Wells: “That depends on who you ask. Mayfield has been playing well this year and is far outplaying his contract, but he’ll want a long term deal that will probably be similar to Geno Smith’s after the season ends. Do the Bucs want to give him that money, or would they rather look elsewhere? That’s going to depend on where the Bucs finish this year and how Mayfield plays to close out the season.”
3
Who will replace Lavonte David and Jamel Dean?
River Wells: “Lavonte David will be replaced by a committee of rookie SirVocea Dennis and K.J. Britt — if Devin White can’t go, they’ll both start. Dean will likely be replaced by Zyon McCollum, who has not played very good football when asked to step in this year.”
4
Who are some under-the-radar Bucs players Colts fans should know about?
River Wells: “He only just came back to the fold after a long-term injury, but rookie Calijah Kancey has shaped up to be quite the pass rusher so far this year on the interior. In the same vein, rookie edge rusher Yaya Diaby has had four sacks on the year, two of which came against a very good San Francisco o-line last week.”
5
Who wins and why?
River Wells: “This is a very tough one. The Bucs are injury prone at the moment, but I think they have the gameplan to slow down the Colts offense and should be able to put up enough points on their own to win. I wouldn’t be surprised if this goes either way, honestly, but I’ll go Bucs 23, Colts 21.”
