The Denver Broncos must get something going in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to avoid starting 0-3 for the second straight season. Denver could play spoiler here and notch their first win of the 2024 NFL Season. The Buccaneers are coming off of an intense win against the Detroit Lions, so perhaps they could be caught looking past the Broncos.
The Bucs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4, so they figure to probably put up a better fight than Denver. The Broncos do have some matchup advantages against this team depending on which injured Buccaneers are able to make it on the field.
Let's look at three Broncos players who need to thrive in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
3 Denver Broncos who need to thrive in Week 3 vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The entire offensive line
Both Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, two notable defensivel linemen on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers DL, did not practice on Wednesday and may not suit up for the team in Week 3. If both players do not play, they may end up starting a defensive line of Ben Stille, Greg Gaines, and Logan Hall.
That starting DL is just not great, so the Broncos offensive line could have a perfect opportunity to come out and just dominate the line of scrimmage. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey is going to miss about a month, so that could throw a wrench into things, but the interior starting OL of Ben Powers, Luke Wattenberg, and Quinn Meinerz must have a field day here..
If Stille, Gaines, and Hall are indeed starting, there really are no excuses for this unit to not play extremely well. This would be huge for Bo Nix as well, as it'd keep him upright and give him more time in the pocket.
Someone at wide receiver
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only team left in the NFL that have not allowed a receiving touchdown, but they've allowed the fourth-most yards on a 65% completion percentage. Bo Nix should be able to have some sort of ease throwing the ball in Week 3, and given how porous the secondary has been, someone at wide receiver must step up for him.
Courtland Sutton or Marvin Mims Jr could be two guys that could breakout here. Both are kind of needing to get things going. WR Josh Reynolds has amassed 138 receiving yards through two games, which leads the team. He may be the most likely candidate to have a huge day catching passes from Bo Nix.
But the point here is that someone needs to step up. The Buccaneers may be poised to allow a ton of yards through the air, especially if the Denver Broncos can establish the run.
Javonte Williams, RB
Team can run on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They've allowed the 14th-most rushing yards in the NFL through two weeks. They're also allowing 4.9 yards per carry, which is the 9th-most. The Buccaneers may be without two defensive linemen in Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey, so this could expose their shaky run defense even more.
This sets the stage wonderfully for RB Javonte Williams to have himself a big day. It's not a secret that successful NFL offenses are able to establish the run, and one of the young quarterback's best friends is a competent rushing attack.
To prevent Bo Nix from having to throw the ball 38 times on Sunday, they need to prioritize the run early on, and if Williams can't be that guy, they need to give Jaleel McLaughlin and perhaps even Tyler Badie more carries. This might be a huge test for Williams. If he can't have a good day on the ground against this team, especially when Vea and Kancey may not play, the Broncos should bench him, plain and simple.
This is almost a matchup where it'd be a surprise if Javonte Williams did not have a big day, but he's been awful since the start of the 2023 NFL Season, so you never know.