Matt Hasselbeck looks to improve his record as the Indianapolis Colts' starting quarterback to 4-0 this season when the team hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.
The Colts (5-5) beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-21 last week on a late field goal from Adam Vinatieri. Hasselbeck completed 23-of-32 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. With the win, the 17-year veteran joined New England's Tom Brady and Carolina's Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks with at least two starts who have yet to lose this season.
The Buccaneers (5-5), are coming off their largest win of the season, a 45-17 blowout of the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday. Rookie quarterback Jameis Winston tossed five touchdown passes while running back Doug Martin ran for an equally impressive 235 yards. Lovie Smith's team has won three of four to reach .500 for the second time this season.
Here are three keys to the game for both the Buccaneers and the Colts.
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1. Let Jameis Winston open it up again
Just a week removed from throwing five touchdowns against the Eagles, it's time for the Buccaneers to let him Winston have at it once again. The Colts have struggled against opposing quarterbacks this year, allowing 2,867 passing yards with 19 touchdowns. With an average of just under two touchdowns per game being allowed by Indianapolis, look for Dirk Koetter to give Winston the option to air it out early and often again.
2. All systems go for another big week from Mike Evans
After a huge previous two weeks statistically, Evans was actually somewhat quiet in the Buccaneers dominant performance over the Eagles. He caught four balls for 63 yards and a score, but it was obvious that Philadelphia was looking to do anything to lock him down. Fortunately, teams now see that locking in on Evans won't lead to automatic defensive success. To top it off, the Colts have struggled against opposing wide receivers this season, allowing 135 receptions for 1,861 yards and 12 scores. Expect Winston and Evans to hook up plenty in Week 12.
3. Minimize Indianapolis' running backs and tight ends in the pass game
With Matt Hasselbeck under center, one thing that's obvious is that he's more than happy to check the ball down to a running back or tight end. In Week 11's victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Hasselbeck completed 13 passes for 118 yards to either running backs or tight ends. He also threw both of his touchdowns to Ahmad Bradshaw, so the Buccaneers should fully expect to see the veteran quarterback look to the likes of Bradshaw, Frank Gore, Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen early and often.
1. Focus on stopping the run
The Bucs are second in the NFL in rushing, averaging 142.2 yards per game and are coming off a game in which the team ran for 283 yards, 235 of them by Martin. The Colts did a commendable job holding the Falcons talented duo of Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman to a combined 91 yards on the ground last. The Indianapolis defense will need another strong showing against Martin and the Buccaneers on Sunday.
2. Make Gore and Bradshaw integral once again
The Colt's ground game struggled against the Falcons, but Gore and Bradshaw more than made up for it with their receiving skills. Gore caught a team-high five passes for 46 yards, while Bradshaw caught four passes for 20 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts should lean heavily on the run against a middle-of-the-pack Tampa Bay run defense, but another week of utilizing Gore and Bradshaw as receivers out of the backfield will also help an offense that lacks big-play ability with Andrew Luck out of the lineup.
3. Start strong
Fueled by turnovers and ineffectiveness, the Colts allowed the Falcons to jump out to a 14-point lead twice last week before rallying to win. Matt Hasselbeck has proved himself a capable game-manager, but expecting him to help overcome large deficits every week is asking for trouble. The Colts need to grab an early lead to ease the pressure on both the offense and defense.
