Have an answer for Brian Flores' pressure
This is easily the biggest challenge Tampa Bay will face on Sunday. Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores has taken aggressiveness to another level. According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings have blitzed on 75.3 percent of their defensive snaps. PFF has their blitz rate even higher at 79.3 percent. Either way, Minnesota is sending extra rushers at a rate no other defense in football comes close to matching. That is concerning for a Tampa Bay offense that has already allowed seven sacks. The Bucs rank 28th in sacks allowed per pass attempt, while Minnesota ranks fifth defensively in that same category. Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner has also been a problem, recording three sacks and a league-high 20 pressures through two games. The offensive
line will have to communicate better, but the responsibility will not fall entirely on that group. Baker Mayfield has to recognize where pressure is coming from, get the ball out quickly, and avoid turning every play into an attempt to escape the pocket and create something.
Keep feeding Bucky Irving
Irving enters Week 3 with 183 yards from scrimmage and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Tampa Bay, as a team, is averaging 5.0 yards per rushing attempt, giving the offense something to lean on rather than allowing Minnesota to turn the game into a constant battle between its pass rush and Mayfield. Minnesota has been solid against the run, allowing 100 rushing yards per game, but that should not scare Tampa Bay away from establishing Irving early. Running the football can help keep the Bucs out of obvious passing situations, which becomes even more important against a defense as aggressive as Minnesota's. Second and six is much easier to manage than second and 10 when Flores can disguise pressure and send rushers from anywhere. Irving can also become an important weapon in the passing game. Getting him matched against linebackers or into space on screens gives Mayfield an easy option when the Vikings bring pressure.
Finish drives with touchdowns
The Bucs have scored touchdowns on only 37.5 percent of their red zone trips through two games, tied for 26th in the NFL. That becomes an even bigger issue this week because Minnesota has been one of the league's toughest teams to score against inside the 20. The Vikings have allowed touchdowns on just 14.3 percent of opposing red zone possessions, the third-best mark in the NFL. Tampa Bay cannot settle for field goals every time it puts together a good drive. That means avoiding the mistakes that make life harder near the goal line. Negative plays, sacks, and turnovers can completely change a possession, and those issues have already hurt the Bucs during their first two losses. The Vikings have shown they can win low-scoring games. Tampa Bay cannot afford to help them turn Sunday into another one. Protect Mayfield, keep Irving involved, and turn red zone opportunities into seven points instead of three, and the Bucs offense will give itself a chance to finally put together the performance it has been missing through the first two weeks.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Three keys for Bucs offense vs Vikings
