Having won four of the past five games, the Cincinnati Bengals (7-3-1) will look to stay hot as they travel to the Sunshine State to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-9) who have lost four of their last five games.
The AFC North has dominated the NFC South this season, holding a 10-1-1 record. That being said, the Buccaneers are responsible for that sole victory and despite one of the worst records in the NFL, the Buccaneers are still competing for a division title.
If the Buccaneers hope to pull off an upset on Sunday, they’ll need to produce some pressure and force Andy Dalton to turn the ball over. Gerald McCoy is more than capable of getting after Dalton, as his pass rush grade of +27.7 is by far the best of any defensive tackle in the league. McCoy has racked up an impressive eight sacks (second among all defensive tackles), eight hits (second), and 20 hurries (tied for fourth), earning him a Pass Rushing Productivity of 9.2 (seventh).
McCoy will matchup against interior lineman Clint Boling and Kevin Zeitler who have performed well this year. Zeitler has been the better of the two in terms of pass protection; earning a grade of +6.7 and hitting his stride as of late, as he has posted three consecutive green grades in pass protection.
Additionally, Zeitler has only allowed one sack, one hit, and two total pressures giving him a Pass Blocking Efficiency of 99.2, first among guards who have played a minimum of 125 passing plays.
As well as Zeitler has played, McCoy may have room for opportunity against Boling who has earned a pass protection grade of -1.3. Still, Boling has played well as of late, earning four consecutive positive pass protection grades.
McCoy will be challenged on Sunday but if he is able to trouble Dalton throughout the day, the Bucs could keep it close.
Here are three more notable numbers for each side:
Cincinnati Bengals
A.J. Green – Green has dropped four of 45 catchable balls this season, earning him a Drop Rate of 8.89; 51 receivers with at least 30 taregts sit ahead of him on that list.
Andrew Whitworth – Whitworth owns the third-best pass block grade of all tackles, +16.0.
Geno Atkins – With a pass rush grade of +9.0, Atkins has the best grade of any Bengals defender.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans – Evans has a receiving grade of +8.3, second-best of any rookie wide receiver.
Josh McCown – McCown has faced a good deal of pressure on the year, his Pressure Percentage of 42.7% is one of the worst in the league.
Lavonte David – Boasts the sixth-best run defense grade among 4-3 OLBs this season (+7.2) after finishing seventh in that category at the position last season and fourth the year before.
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