Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Blueprint to beating Patriots in Tom Brady’s return

With a recent loss, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally need to address key issues in their scheme in order to overcome a tough contest in New England.

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are walking into Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots this Sunday in primetime. This game will be the first time that Tom Brady will play against his former head coach Bill Belichick with whom he won 6 Super Bowls.

The Buccaneers are also coming off their first loss since Nov. 29, 2020 when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. The New England Patriots lost again this past weekend to the Bucs’ division rival, the New Orleans Saints.

But none of that matters because who has ever seen Tom Brady and Bill Belichick go against each other on the field? The reality is, however, that Brady is not the coach of the Bucs, and likewise, Belichick is not on the field playing the game. Both teams have played three games and we are starting to see who each team really is. For the Bucs to win, there are really only two key things they must do.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to do these two things to beat the Patriots

First, the Bucs have to get their run game going. Last week against the Rams, Brady was the leading rusher with 14 yards on three carries.

Now, this isn’t the old NFL where you had to run the ball on offense and stop the run on defense to win games. In Week 1, Brady was 32-of-50 for 379 yards and in Week 3, he was 41-of-55 for 432 yards. Throwing 55 times in a loss is a lot, but that is what happens because when a team is down they will not hand the ball off for minimal gains, but launch it down the field to come back.

Hence the reason passing is so popular in the league right now: more yards. And the Bucs and Bruce Arians absolutely love to throw the ball and they love to throw the ball deep. But Belichick, a defensive mastermind, is not going to let that happen. So, the Bucs need to get Leonard Fournette over a hundred yards for the year on Sunday night and give Brady’s arm a break.

Second, the defense needs to bring the house against Mac Jones. The rookie quarterback is not playing horrible, but he just lost a safety blanket to a season-ending hip injury in veteran running back James White. The Bucs defense is already notorious for its relentless pressure and aggressive style.

Without a veteran running back to help with pass protection, Jones will have a long night if the Bucs keep up the pressure. Last week against the Rams, the defense only sacked Matthew Stafford once and did not force a single interception. Also, the defense has given up over 300 yards in the air in each game. And Jones is coming off of a three-interception performance.

This is the week the Bucs need to fire up the pass rush and get the Brady Bunch back on the field as quickly as possible.

Funny enough, the last time Belichick faced Bruce Arians was in his Week 1 win of the 2016 season when Brady was serving a four-game suspension because of the infamous “Deflategate.” So, winning against an Arians team without Brady is not a new venture for Belichick. But a game with Brady on one sideline and Belichick on the other is very new.