Buccaneers X-Factor: Player to watch in Week 2 matchup against the Bears

The Buccaneers come into this weekend with a prime opportunity to improve to 2-0 on the young season. Standing in their way are the 0-1 Chicago Bears.

In order for the Buccaneers to accomplish the goal of getting the W, there is one player in particular that will have to play well in order for that to happen.

This week’s X-factor is linebacker Devin White.

The reason for choosing White is obvious. Bears quarterback Justin Fields still possesses some questions about whether or not he can be a franchise quarterback but one thing that is for certain is that Fields can do damage with his legs.

Fields has struggled at times throwing the football, but he still is incredibly athletic and can escape pressure with ease. That is exactly where Devin White comes in.

Perhaps the Bucs use White in a similar way that Tampa Bay used to use Derrick Brooks whenever the Bucs would play Michael Vick. Could the Bucs used Devin White as a spy to ensure Fields stays inside the pocket thus forcing him to throw?

Field threw the ball 37 times last Sunday, a number the Bears surely would look to see come down so we could definitely see them put the ball in Fields’ hands on the ground and attack Tampa Bay that way.

With how fast and agile Fields is, normal linebackers would likely be a mismatch, but Tampa’s defense is well equipped to contain him with two very fast linebackers. White’s sideline to sideline speed could be a critical piece to the puzzle when it comes to containing this Chicago offense.

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Tampa Bay can play to a strength of their defense and in the process eliminate what the Bears and Fields want to do. By forcing them to throw it, it can keep them off schedule and force their offense into some third and longs. Expect White to be a key piece in the Buccaneers defensive gameplan this week as he and the rest of the Tampa Bay defense look to keep Chicago’s struggles going.

We will see how the Buccaneers defense contains Justin Fields but if they come out on top, the performance of Devin White may be a big reason why.