New England Patriots: Keys to victory vs. Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Conditioning: mentally and physically
This has been a whirlwind of a start to the season after very nearly losing Week 3 and losing in Week 4 only to come back four days later for a road game in week 5. This will be the first regular season match-up for Tom Brady at Raymond James Stadium. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports, the last time the Patriots played the Buccaneers in a road game, it was in London instead of Tampa Bay.
In some ways, it is good to be playing on Thursday after a loss, since it allows the team less time to dwell on a loss.
However, with the Buccaneers coming off a tough win over the New York Giants and seeing how weak the Patriots have been on defense, it will most likely be a shark smelling blood situation for them. The Patriots need to bring their “A” game if they have any hopes of coming out of Tampa Bay with a winning record. Luckily, it is still early in the season so hopefully players are not too fatigued.