Five players to watch from the Ravens vs. Buccaneers
Tom Brady and the Buccaneers hope to break their losing streak when they host Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. Baltimore won their last two games at Tampa Bay.
Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season will kick off with the duel between Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens and Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium this Thursday at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The storyline of the game will be the confrontation between Brady, QB of the old guard, and Jackson, one of the standards of the present and future of the NFL. The two quarterbacks have only met once. That matchup took place on November 3, 2019 at M&T Bank and the Ravens outscored the Patriots 37-20 thanks to two rushing TDs and one by air from Lamar.
Three years later, Tom and Lamar will square off again. Here are the players to watch from Week 8′s matchup between the Ravens and the Buccaneers.
Tom Brady
Brady is looking to improve his performance and that of the players around him to get the Bucs back on track to victory. Tampa Bay has lost four of the last five games and during that span, TB12 completed 162 of 235 throws for 1,540 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions, and recorded one missed fumble and seven sacks for 60 yards.
Lamar Jackson
Jackson will have to use his legs and his arm if they want the Ravens to walk out of Raymond James Stadium victorious. The Carolina Panthers showed that to beat the Buccaneers you must establish a dominant running game to take advantage of play action throughout the game.
Jamel Dean
Due to injuries to Logan Ryan, Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Antoine Winfield, Jamel Dean will be the only Buccaneers defensive back who has started since Week 1 and will participate in the matchup against the Ravens. According to Pro Football Reference, the 26-year-old cornerback has allowed 17 receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 33 passes thrown his way.
Mark Andrews
Andrews is one of the best tight ends in the league, but in his last game he was only scouted by Lamar Jackson twice and failed to make a catch. With that in mind and against a defense that lacks its best perimeter defense, Andrews will be a sure target for Lamar Jackson against the Bucs.
Nick Leverett
The offensive line has been one of the main problems for the Buccaneers in 2022 and now they will have a new starting guard in the figure of Nick Leverett. The guard will have to protect the inside of the lane so that Travis Jones and Justin Madubuike don’t get to Brady, and he’ll also have to open up enough holes for Leonard Fournette to run easily.