On Sunday, Washington will look to begin a strong second half to its season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Washington is 3-6 and likely out of the playoff picture, but could gain some valuable momentum going into the future. The same can be said for Tampa Bay, with both teams under a new head coach and clearly building toward having a winner in town. For now, though, neither has found the formula.
Buccaneers vs. Washington 2014 picks and predictions: Robert Griffin and Co. expected to win
Washington looks to get on track against a Tampa Bay team which has failed to do much of anything all season.
The quarterback situation is unstable for both sides. In Tampa Bay, Josh McCown was brought in to be the veteran hand for Lovie Smith's group, but it has not panned out. McCown has only played in four games due to injury and has been largely ineffective, throwing four touchdowns against six interceptions. Mike Glennon has also been mediocre, completing just 57.6 percent of his passes.
In Washington, three quarterbacks have started games. Robert Griffin began the season as the starter before getting injured in Week 2, allowing for Kirk Cousins to have a chance. Cousins played well at first before becoming a turnover machine, leading to his benching. Colt McCoy earned a start against the Dallas Cowboys and pulled off one of the biggest upsets this season over the Dallas Cowboys, before Griffin returned in Washington's last game against the Vikings. Griffin is still the future and has played well when healthy this year, completing 72.1 percent of his throws.
Over at USA Today, the seven experts all believe Jay Gruden’s team will pick up a win at FedEx Field. The same can be said of the 13 ESPN analysts, who are siding with Washington to earn its fourth victory of the campaign. Over at CBS Sports, the eight men picking are also on the Washington bandwagon for this one, with three picking the Buccaneers to cover the 7.5-point spread.
Here at SB Nation, we also have complete faith in Washington to win this one, or maybe it’s more faith in Tampa Bay to lose. In any event, the Buccaneers are expected to fall to 1-9 on the year, putting them in prime position for a top-three pick come the NFL Draft.
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