Few head coaches know the Green Bay Packers better than Lovie Smith. Smith wasn’t brought into Tampa Bay to beat the green and gold like he was when he was with the Bears, but that’s exactly what he and his Buccaneers will set out to do in week 16.
Tampa Bay’s season is all but lost as they enter the week at just 2-12, but at this point it’s about building momentum for 2015. A huge win over the Packers at home would qualify as such.
With Aaron Rodgers and company coming to town, Buccaneers tickets understandably aren’t cheap at $232 on average, as they actually rise up almost $90 above the season average. Tickets for Green Bay Packers fans heading to Tampa Bay will cost $90 to get in. It only makes sense, though, with Green Bay being one of the hottest teams in the league at 10-4 and still competing for a shot at their division title.
While the Bucs can’t make the playoffs this year, they can still give Green Bay a tough challenge and try to play spoiler in Week 16. That seems unlikely to happen, even with the Packers coming off of a lackluster offensive performance in Week 15.
Aaron Rodgers is in the midst of a career season. He’s been so impressive that even after he struggled against the Bills in Week 15 with two picks he still has just five interceptions on the year. Considering A-Rod was at his very worst a week ago, it’s highly unlikely a shaky Bucs defense is going to get him to lay an egg for the second straight week. However, that may be exactly what they have to do. Tampa Bay can be run on and has one of the worst pass defenses, but if Lovie Smith can orchestrate a consistent pass rush like Buffalo did last week, the Bucs may have a chance to stay in this one.
Given the receiving duo of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, the Bucs defensive backfield will have their work cut out for them, however. Nelson and Cobb rank fifth and 12th in receiving yards this season, respectively, with each over the 1,000 yard milestone. They each have more than 75 receptions on the season, with Nelson eighth in the league with 83 catches, and rank second and eighth in touchdowns with 12 and 10 respectively. Look for Rodgers to exploit mismatches through the air and cause fits for Lovie Smith’s defense yet again, continuing that trend from his Bears days.
