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Yarcho’s Pick Six: Bucs Firing On All Cylinders

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had another dominant win, beating the Las Vegas Raiders 45-20

NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Las Vegas Raiders Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Things seem to be going well for the Buccaneers in ever facet of the game. The offense is on fire, the defense is creating turnovers, and the Buccaneers are now 5-2 on the season while continuing to hold down the top spot in the NFC South.

Tom Brady was outstanding, accounting for five Bucs touchdowns on the day - four through the air and one on the ground - as the Bucs came away victorious in their first trip to Las Vegas.

Let’s Pick Six.

Six Topics Suitable For Conversation

1.) The best team in the NFL. This may have seemed far fetched just a few weeks ago, but the Buccaneers are building a case that they are the best team in the NFL. The defense had its rough moments but came up with a huge takeaway when the team needed it most. This allowed the Bucs to score two touchdowns in just forty-two seconds and take a 24-20 lead to 38-20. After that, it was all over for Derek Carr and the Raiders. With this team playing the way it is, they’re going to be very difficult to beat.

2.) Mike Evans. Look, people were getting way too upset over Evans’ target share on Sunday. He finished with just two receptions but also drew two pass interference calls that resulted in first downs. Yes, his 1,000 yard season streak is in major jeopardy but I think he would trade that streak without hesitation for a chance at a championship. It also appears that he is far from healthy. He was having difficulty gaining separation from the defenders and the Raiders were also bringing safeties over the top to try and shut him down. On one ankle, it’s hard for anyone to win battles in those situations. Don’t worry about Evans. He’s going to be just fine. And remember - Antonio Brown is coming to town and that will cut into everyone’s target share.

3.) Oh boy...Antonio Brown. Speaking of which, this is the first opportunity I’ve had to say my piece on the AB move. Look, I am not a fan of Brown. I think he’s a loose cannon and that the immaturity and selfishness he displayed was very telling. Not to mention the allegations he is set to defend in court in December are all kinds of disturbing. Now, allegations are simply that - allegations. If it turns out he’s guilty, he won’t be part of this team. That’s not me predicting anything - that is literally word for word what Bruce Arians said. Beyond that, it’s a no risk, all reward situation for the Bucs. AB is going to be on his best behavior, motivated to succeed in order to save his NFL career. He’s on a one year, minimum deal loaded with on and off field incentives. Don’t behave, be a problem in the locker room, live stream yourself on Instagram screaming at the cops again - you’re gone. If he’s going to be the AB he was in Pittsburgh, the Buccaneers’ offense might be the most unstoppable force we’ve ever seen. If he’s not, well he’s fourth or fifth in the pecking order anyway. The other thing is the injury issues the Bucs have faced at receiver. Evans is visibly still hurt. Chris Godwin isn’t 100%. Scotty Miller has been dealing with a groin injury most of the season. Justin Watson has missed time. Again, this is no risk, all reward for the Bucs. I just hope they’re right.

4.) Devin White is a machine. Devin White came into this game with a chip on his shoulder. In fact, he even tweeted to the Raiders with the hashtag #ShouldHaveDraftedMeAt4 - so he was extra motivated that the Raiders passed on him. In response, he had a career high three sacks in the game and a game high eleven tackles. This guy is just on another level right now and is the heart of the defense along with Lavonte David. This duo gets better by the week and White is proving all his doubters wrong when they said he shouldn’t be a top five pick.

5.) Antoine Winfield Jr. would like to say something. With all this praise being heaped on to White week after week, Winfield Jr. would like to remind people that he should be leading the conversation for defensive rookie of the year. He added on to his case by getting his first career interception at the most opportune time against the Raiders. That interception would lead to a touchdown and the commanding 18-point lead the Bucs obtained. Winfield continues to play like a veteran and has given the back end of this Bucs defense a massive boost.

6.) Gronk is Gronk-ing again. Rob Gronkowski looked better this week than he did against the Packers, continuing to get closer to vintage Gronk form with every passing game. He finished this week with five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, giving him two in as many weeks. The only problem is we see Brady zoning in on Gronk a little too often when there are plenty of other options out there to target. Hopefully that doesn’t become a problem later on, but I certainly like what I’ve seen out of Gronk the last two games.

Six Numbers To Consider

559 - Tom Brady’s career passing touchdowns, most all-time

77 - Percent of teams that start 5-2 in the last decade to make the playoffs

17 - Touchdown passes by Brady this season, most in team history through seven games

1 - Number of times in franchise history the Bucs have won back-to-back games by 25+ points

109 - Receiving yards by Scotty Miller - a career high

0 - Sacks allowed or turnovers by the Buccaneers for the second straight week

Six Best Tweets

Six Best Treats

It’s Halloween week! Time to count down the best Halloween candies you can either give out - or sneak from your kid’s trick or treat bag.

6.) PayDay - Vastly underrated and rarely found on Halloween - but when you manage to get one, you know it’s going to be a great night of trick-or-treating.

5.) Skittles - Yeah, you can fit the entire “fun size” bag in your mouth, but Skittles are awesome.

4.) Sour Patch Kids - The best of the non-chocolate options.

3.) Snickers - Peanuts, caramel, chocolate - perfection.

2.) Peanut M&M’s - Plain M&M’s are terrible. Peanut is the superior version of this trick-or-treat staple

1.) Reese’s - Cups, pumpkins, bats - no matter the variation, Reese’s is and always will be the GOAT. There is no other.

Six Super Bowl Bets

Per usual, this was completed ahead of the Sunday Night Football game finishing

1.) Kansas City Chiefs - So good, so dangerous

2.) Seattle Seahawks - Also very dangeRUSS (see what I did there?) and potentially the biggest threat to the Bucs in the NFC

3.) Pittsburgh Steelers - They just keep winning

4.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Hitting their stride, and more complete than Seattle on the defensive side of the ball

5.) Green Bay Packers - Continuing to feast on sub-par defenses

6.) Baltimore Ravens - Not as flashy as 2019, but still a really good team

Six Final Words

All Eyes Now On You, Rays...