The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming home for Week 2, and there is already a little more pressure on this game than anyone probably expected. Tampa Bay dropped its opener 33-27 to the Cincinnati Bengals, losing four fumbles in a game that was still within reach late. Now the Bucs get a Cleveland Browns
team that had an even worse Sunday, losing 34-10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars after falling behind 31-0 early in the third quarter.This is the type of game the Bucs need to win, especially at home. Cleveland finished Week 1 with 272 net yards, two turnovers and 11 penalties for 75 yards. Deshaun Watson completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but Jacksonville got to him five times. That should immediately get
the attention of a Tampa Bay pass rush that only brought Joe Burrow down once in Cincinnati.
Rueben Bain Jr. is one player who needs to make his presence felt. The No. 15 overall pick played 41 defensive snaps in his NFL debut but finished with one tackle, and PFF gave him a 40.1 overall grade. Alex Anzalone also needs a bounce-back game after playing all 64 defensive snaps and finishing with Tampa Bay's lowest defensive PFF grade at 32.3. Both were brought in to strengthen this defense, and Week 2 gives them an opportunity to make a much bigger impact.
David Walker is another name to watch after being active in Week 1 but not seeing the field on defense, with his work limited to special teams. Walker showed some juice as a pass rusher during the preseason, and it will be interesting to see whether Todd Bowles works him into the defensive rotation against Cleveland. If the Bucs struggle to generate pressure against an offensive line that just allowed five sacks, the calls to see what Walker can do are only going to get louder.
On the other side of the ball, Baker Mayfield gets a matchup that comes with a little extra history. Cleveland made Mayfield the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and he spent four seasons with the Browns before the two sides went their separate ways. He eventually landed in Tampa Bay and revived his career, so call it whatever you want, but facing the team that drafted you and then moved on from you has revenge-game material written all over it.
Mayfield has something to clean up himself after completing 23 of 28 passes for 216 yards against Cincinnati without throwing an interception but losing three fumbles. Mayfield fighting for extra yards and refusing to give up on plays is part of what makes him Baker Mayfield. It has produced plenty of big moments for the Bucs, but Week 1 was an example of what can happen when trying to do too much goes the other way.
The biggest storyline might be what happens if Tampa Bay doesn't win. Nobody should be talking about firing a coach because of one loss, but an 0-2 start would change the conversation quickly. Losing on the road to Cincinnati is one thing. Following that up by losing your home opener to a Browns team that just got beat by 24 points is another, and the heat around Bowles would start rising quickly.
Bowles and the Bucs need a response, and they have a good opportunity to get one in front of their home crowd. Bain and Anzalone need to be better; the pass rush has a matchup it should be able to exploit, and the offense can't give Cleveland the same extra possessions it gave Cincinnati. Week 2 isn't a must-win game in the literal sense, but if the Bucs walk out of Raymond James Stadium 0-2, Bucs fans aren't going to care about technicalities.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Looking ahead at the Bucs' Week 2 matchup against the Browns
