Buccaneers VS Seahawks Game Preview
Aiiiight….it’s Week 5 in the NFL, and it’s officially the beginning of the end of the first quarter of the season. After this week, most teams in the League will have an idea of who and what they really are for the 2025 season.
But for now, it’s the battle of the best dressed in Seattle as the Seahawks and Buccaneers, both, don their 50th Anniversary uniforms for the first time ever. Seattle reintroduced their classic look back in 2023 while the BUCS brought back the nostalgic alternative look in Week 3 in a win against the Jets. These are, arguably, the best-looking jerseys that will be seen together on an NFL field this season. However, the matchup between the two teams should be anything but pretty.
Seattle Seahawks: Mirror Image Of The Buccaneers?
Yesterday, I played a video game online against an opponent for the first time in almost twenty years. I generally hated the thought of playing games, especially sports games, online due to the lag and slow input time associated with the process. But for whatever reason, I decided to fire up Madden 26( I know, I know) and play some random person.
As if the anxiety of diving into online wasn’t awkward enough, this random opponent decided to play as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team I had also selected. Ugggh.
It’s hard to put into words how irritable I was to see someone try to use everything I liked about MY team against me. I don’t know if this person was trolling me or if he/she was an actual fan of the BUCS like me. But it pissed me off.
Well, that’s what we’re likely in for on Sunday. We’re looking at an NFC team with a 3-1 record, a, somehow underrated defense, a young hotshot WR from THE Ohio State, and a QB redemption story the media has fallen in love with.
The Seattle Seahawks are the much healthier West Coast Buccaneers.
WATCH FOR THE HOOK
The Seahawks’ offense is grounded(pun intended) in running the ball to set up everything else. Seattle has the 2nd-highest run rate in the NFL(53%). They’ve run for 100+ yards in two of their four games so far this season, with their biggest output coming against the Cardinals in Week 4(155 yards). They commit to the run to control the clock and create favorable down-and-distance situations.
“They’re good at run and play action on first and second down”
Through the first four games, the Seahawks have run the ball on 1st Down 25 times for 122 yards. They’ve run on 2nd Down 14 times for 27 yards. They’re averaging 4.88 yards per carry on 1st Down and 1.93 on 2nd Down attempts.
The Seahawks have a formidable backfield in Kenneth Walker III and Zach Charbonnet. Both RBs run with power and are hard to bring down. Walker, the lead back, is averaging 4.2 ypc so far this season with 3 TDs to boot.
Charbonnet serves as the backup who’s not really a change-of-pace as much as he is a double dose of frustration for defenders. He’s a bigger version of the Buccaneers’ Sean Tucker.
Seattle tends to run the ball between the tackles as a tactic to draw the opposing LBs in and loosen up coverage, allowing for the play-action. So far, the team has attempted a play-action pass 22 times(tied for 13th most) and has gained 222 yards(9th most).
COVER 2
The Seahawks also boast one of the most potent WRs in the NFL in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The 3rd-year superstar has the 2nd-most receiving yards in the League(402). Seattle’s pass game is primarily run through him as he’s one of the absolute best route runners around. While his touchdown numbers wouldn’t indicate it, he’s one of the most explosive WRs in the NFL. Njigba is tied with the Buccaneers’ own star Buceye WR Emeka Egbuka with 5 catches of 25+ yards this season.
Alongside Njigba, there’s the former Triple Crown winner, Cooper Kupp. Many BUCS fans still have nightmares about the Super Bowl LVI MVP. Ugggh.
Kupp is still one of the better route technicians despite the injuries he’s endured throughout his 9 years. He hasn’t eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark since 2021, but he’s still been effective. While not the downfield threat he once was, Kupp is still a solid threat for the BUCS, who will be without two of the top three CBs on the roster.
Luckily for the Buccaneers, no one else on the Seahawks’ roster is remotely close to being as productive as their top two receivers. Kupp, the WR2, has twice as many targets as the next passing option, and no one else has more than 82 yards receiving.
THE QB COMPARISON
Sam Darnold, the Baker Mayfield of the West, is enjoying his continued resurgence after his exit from Carolina. The parallels between the two are damn near unbelievable. They came into the NFL together in 2018 as their respective teams’ first pick in the Draft. Both got written off by those teams relatively quickly. Somehow, they ended up in Carolina together. Both have bounced around and have landed on their second team after being former Panthers. Both have re-established themselves and QBs with potential franchise QB ability and hope. Sam Darnold has 904 passing yards to Mayfield’s 905. Both are averaging 226 passing yards per game.
Jinxies!!
As for the game on Sunday, Darnold's similarity to Mayfield could work in the BUCS’ favor if/when the defense gets pressure on him. When pressured, Darnold is as likely to take a sack as he is to scramble. He’s been sacked 6 times this season and scrambled just 3 times.
Mayfield has been sacked 8 times, albeit he’s been playing with a patchwork offensive line for three of the first four games of the season.
Darnold has been the more efficient of the two passers as he’s completed 70 of his 100 attempts. Mayfield, on the other hand, has a 59.7% completion rating, completing 83 of his 139 attempts.
As far as numbers go, both have been okay as far as throwing INTs, as Mayfield has only 1 INT on the season so far. Granted, it was at an extremely pivotal moment in the game. Darnold threw 2 INTs in a single game against the Steelers in a Week 3 loss.
The Buccaneers’ secondary(what’s left of it) will rely on the defensive line to generate the kind of pressure needed to force Darnold into some uncharacteristic mistakes. Unfortunately, due to the number of injuries, the game plan may rely on zone coverages even more than usual. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of zone blitzes Bowles may dial up to affect his one-time starting QB.
KEY MATCHUPS AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Seattle’s opportunistic secondary vs Tampa’s WRs/Mayfield—Seattle has one of the most physically talented secondaries in the League. Egbuka and Godwin could be utilized in motion to keep the secondary honest and disciplined. But this would be a game I’d look to insert Tez Johnson more into the offense due to his shiftiness.
Buccaneers’ offensive line vs Seattle’s stout defensive front-The BUCS have been mixing and matching players on the offensive line for the first four weeks of the season due to injuries. Sunday’s game will be the first time it will field the same offensive line in consecutive weeks. Eerily similar to how the secondary had to go without the same lineup until Week 17 last year. How the offensive line fares against a defensive line as talented as Seattle’s is gonna be one of, if not the, biggest key to a win.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba- Whoever draws the straw to cover Smith-Njigba will either be a hero on Monday morning or a talking point for needing to upgrade the secondary—AGAIN. Smith-Njigba is one of the biggest litmus tests a CB in the NFL can face. There’s a reason he’s the #2 receiver in the League. With Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison missing, the BUCS are without its two best man coverage corners. That leaves McCollum and/or rookie Jacob Parrish to take on the challenge. Coach Todd Bowles has expressed confidence in Parrish being able to play outside corner as well as his usual slot position. But to be tasked to take on one of the best in the NFL in his first attempt is a tall order.
The Buccaneers’ Run Game- With Bucky Irving missing, all eyes will turn, once again, to Rachaad White as he’s most likely to take on the lead RB spot. White has had some bright spots as a contributing RB, but most notably, it’s been in the passing game. He’s not been terrible as a ball-carrier, but his tendency to run with a stop-and-go mentality rather than taking what’s in front of him full speed on a consistent basis has been a worrying aspect of his game. Against Seattle, he’ll need to look more like the version we saw against the Houston Texans when he split the load in a more secondary fashion with Irving leading the way.
Special Teams - Whether it’s the Chase McLaughlin nailing his FG and Point After attempts or the coverage team on kickoffs and punts, Special Teams has got to tighten up so that they’re not a focal point week in and week out. McLaughlin may be on his way to redemption, but the punt coverage and kickoff coverage has slowly become a concern for the BUCS. If they can steer away from giving up good field position to the Seahawks, it would bode well for the defense since it’s gonna have its hands full with the aforementioned WR and RB weapons of Seattle.
So, who or what do you think is the biggest strength or concern for the BUCS heading into the matchup? Some people are concerned about travel and time challenges. Some others are more wary of the uniform. What’s your key to the game? Let me know below.
