Well, at least the experts are split. After being favored at home against Washington last week, the Bucs will assume the underdog role yet again as they travel to New York to take on the Giants in MetLife Stadium. I still call it the Meadowlands.
Working in the Giant's favor is their injury status. As of Thursday, they had all players fully participating in practice, meaning they are totally healthy in Week 11 – even on a short week after playing on Monday night.
According to multiple Buccaneer players and coaches, the key to locking up the game will be to shut down the Giants' offense early. That means getting to veteran quarterback Eli Manning to prevent him from getting the ball to the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Russell Shepard or Evan Engram. It also means shutting down rookie phenom Saquon Barkley and New York's run game. Barkley is already widely regarded as one of the best running backs in the league during his first season and draws comparisons to Barry Sanders because of his build.
Luckily, the Bucs have a certain player with a little extra motivation to have an impact on both those facets in defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who spent eight seasons with the Giants before being traded to Tampa Bay this past offseason. Pierre-Paul leads the Bucs in sacks this season with 8.0 and will be looking to add to that total against his former quarterback.
See below for the full list of expert picks:
View photos from the Buccaneers' practice Thursday at the AdventHealth Training Center.
