Pros
- At a -13.5-point disadvantage, the Buccaneers are heavy underdogs in this week’s contest, implying much more of a reliance on passing than their typical game plan.
- Accounting for their underlying propensities and matchup dynamics, the leading projections forecast the Buccaneers to pass on 63.0% of their downs: the 3rd-greatest frequency among all teams this week.
- Opposing offenses have averaged 38.7 pass attempts per game against the 49ers defense this year: 9th-most in the league.
- Cade Otton’s 86.3% Route Participation% this season illustrates a significant progression in his passing game volume over last season’s 63.9% mark.
- In this game, Cade Otton is projected by our trusted projection set to land in the 82nd percentile when it comes to tight ends with 4.8 targets.
Cons
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers boast a new play-caller this season in offensive coordinator Dave Canales, and the leading projections forecast their pass/run mix to skew 5.0% more towards rushing than it did last season (in a neutral context).
- The model projects the Buccaneers to call the fewest plays on offense among all teams this week with 60.0 plays, accounting for their underlying strategic approach and game dynamics.
- Cade Otton has been one of the weakest tight ends in the NFL at picking up extra yardage, averaging a lowly 0.00 yards-after-the-catch (YAC) this year while ranking in the 2nd percentile.
- This year, the strong San Francisco 49ers defense has given up a mere 33.0 adjusted receiving yards per game vs. opposing TEs: the 2nd-best in football.
- This year, the imposing 49ers defense has surrendered the least adjusted yards-per-target in the NFL to opposing TEs: a feeble 4.7 yards.
Projection
THE BLITZ
28
Receiving Yards