Buccaneer Defense vs. Peyton Manning: Classic Mismatch?

At first glance, at first through, Denver Bronco quarterback Peyton Manning up against the porous Tampa Bay Buccaneer pass defense has all the appearances of a classic mismatch.

But maybe there is hope.

Last week the Broncos edged the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, 17-9. So is there hope for the Bucs?

Manning’s stats show us he’s 277-for-409 passing with a 67.7 percent completion rate. No. 18 has thrown for 26 touchdowns and only eight picks in 11 games. He’s been sacked 16 times.

On the other side of the equation Sunday, Josh Freeman is 199-for-349, that’s 57 percent on completions. He’s thrown for 2,761 yards to Manning’s 3,260. Josh has 21 touchdown passes, six picks and like Manning, has been sacked 16 times.

If the Bucs are going to make a game of it on Sunday, the defensive line will have to do better than it did against Matt Ryan and the Falcons last week. If they don’t put pressure on Manning, then Freeman and the offense better be ready to put close to 40 points on the board.