Of course, the two squads that will square off on “Monday Night Football” are wildly different than the ones who went head to head in Super Bowls past — starting with the fact that one of the teams is literally a different franchise.
The Buccaneers desperately need some help in the secondary at the moment, so the potential return of cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting — who has been out since injuring his elbow back in Week 1 — is a welcome development.
The Bucs have gotten pressure on opposing quarterbacks at the third-highest rate in the league, though they have been somewhat vulnerable to scrambling, which is one of Jones’ strengths.
Slot man Shepard is also probably the Giants’ best zone beater, though the return of Saquon Barkley as an outlet out of the backfield should provide Jones the opportunity to work checkdown routes and get some easy gains.
The Giants have had little in the way of success running the ball this year with or without Barkley, who has largely been ineffective in the seven games he’s been healthy over the last two seasons.
Tampa’s surprising ineffectiveness against a Washington Football Team defense that had been one of the worst in the NFL entering their Week 10 matchup was one of the strangest developments of the season.
But in something that’s becoming a bit of a trend this year, the Football Team getting heavy pressure on Brady early in the game threw off the offense’s rhythm for the rest of the afternoon.
Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham may feel the urge to dial up some pressures just to make sure his rushers get into the backfield, but that could be dangerous against Brady, who recognizes and diagnoses the blitz better than anyone around.
James Bradberry figures to follow Mike Evans around the field, just like he did when they matched up two times a year when Bradberry was with the Panthers, but Godwin should have a significant advantage in the slot, Gronkowski is looking like he might return to the fold, and the Giants’ secondary is somewhat depleted with both Logan Ryan out of the lineup.
Leonard Fournette has staked total claim to the Buccaneers backfield at this point, with Giovani Bernard mixing in as the two-minute back and Ronald Jones an afterthought.