The Bucs Can’t Afford To Play It Safe With Tristan Wirfs
Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it clear they are not taking the New York Giants lightly this weekend, and for good reason. The Giants are more talented than their 2-8 record suggests, and its defensive line has been a headache for opposing quarterbacks. Dexter Lawrence II has been a Second-Team All-Pro for the past two years, and he’s enjoying an even better season in 2024. Through 10 games, he already has career-highs in sacks (9.0) and tackles for loss (8).
1 minute of Dexter Lawrence overpowering his opponent. pic.twitter.com/KkLZBlyTWx
— Josh DeLuca (@JoshDeLuca4) January 16, 2023
And that’s not great news for the 4-7 Buccaneers, given their offensive line situation.
Tristan Wirfs was hurt in the Bucs’ last game against the San Francisco 49ers, and when he was helped off the field and unable to put any weight on his knee, it didn’t look good. Fortunately, Tampa dogged a bullet with it only being a mild Grade Two sprain of the MCL. That injury usually takes 2-to-4 weeks to heal, and he’s officially questionable for Sunday’s game.
MCL injuries can be tricky, and with the Giants being 2-8, practical thinking might be to give Wirfs another week to make sure he’s fully healthy. However, with the Bucs in a must-win situation, as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive. To do that, they’ll need to keep Baker Mayfield upright, so if their star left tackle is healthy, the Bucs have to take their chances and have him out there.
The Giants’ record is not great, but the one real bright spot has been putting pressure on the quarterbacks. So far this season, the Giants have sacked the opposing quarterback 36 times, which is second most in the NFL. And it isn’t just Lawrence on the interior doing that. Edge rusher Brian Burns, who’ll likely match up with Tampa’s left tackles, has 6.0 sacks himself with an additional 12 QB hits. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen made it clear that the team is taking the pass-rushing threat seriously.
Brian Burns – 23 pressures on 3rd/4th down this season
Second most in the NFL 💪 pic.twitter.com/e5NqBpZr6Q
— PFF NY Giants (@PFF_Giants) November 16, 2024
“They’ve got multiple pass rushers that can affect the quarterback,” Coen said. “Everyone that they’ve basically played, they’ve affected. They’ve got a young group of guys there that seem to have some juice. They’re at home on a fast track on that turf. That’s where you can see those guys playing at a speed there that nobody has been able to truly handle.”
If Wirfs isn’t ready to go, Justin Skule will get the start in his place, and he has struggled against elite defenders. Against the Detroit Lions and Aidan Hutchinson, Skule allowed three sacks, and if that happened again on Sunday, that would be disastrous.
The Bucs have put themselves in a position where they can’t afford to lose this game, and because of that, the Bucs can’t give Wirfs an extra week to play it overly cautious. If he’s been cleared, and he feels he’s ready, then Tampa must take that risk and play him in hopes that he can keep Mayfield upright on Sunday.
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