The Buccaneers have placed 25-year old cornerback Aqib Talib on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a hamstring injury.  Talib played in 13 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 34 tackles, 2 interceptions (both returned for TDs), 1 forced fumbles, 11 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  He has now played in 54 games in his first four years for the Bucs and he has 161 tackles, 17 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 46 passes defensed, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  This is a big loss for the Bucs as Talib is one of their best players.

The Buccaneers were pathetic last night in front of a rare sellout crowd.  The Bucs were down 28-0 at the half, before showing some signs of life.  Josh Freeman had another rough game as he completed 17 of 27 passes for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 37 yards (9.3 ypc).  LeGarrette Blount only rushed for 21 yards on 9 carries (2.3 ypc) as the Bucs had to abandon the running game after falling so far behind early in the game.  RB Kregg Lumpkin (5 rec, 50 yards), TE Kellen Winslow (4 rec, 37 yards) and WR Dezmon Briscoe (3 rec, 36 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Bucs last night.  The Buccaneers finished up with 58 yards rushing on 13 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 27 passes (63%) for 132 yards as they had possession of the ball for only 22:01.

The defense was awful as the Cowboys did whatever they wanted last night.  LB Mason Foster (8 tackles), CB Ronde Barber (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) and LB Quincy Black (6 tackles) led the way for the Bucs in this game on D.  LB Dekoda Watson pitched in with 3 tackles and a fumble recovery that he returned 4 yards for a TD.  The Cowboys finished up with 160 yards rushing on 37 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 30 passes (76.7%) for 239 yards.  The Buccaneers are now a woeful 4-10 on the season.

The Buccaneers have lost seven games in a row, but, they will have a sold out stadium behind them (only the second time this year) in the last home game of the year…..so they could be inspired.  The Cowboys have lost two games in a row, but they are 6-2 against sub .500 teams so far this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  With Josh Freeman’s shoulder barking, the Bucs should try to keep the ball on the ground with LeGarrette Blount.  The Cowboys are giving up 101.2 rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry, so the Bucs should be effective running the ball as long as they stick with it.  The Buccaneers are going to have to keep OLB DeMarcus Ware (15 sacks) away from QB Josh Freeman, if he’s going to have any chance to have success throwing the ball.  The Cowboys are giving up 243.2 yards passing per game but they have playmakers in the secondary as they have 15 interceptions so far this year.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are going to come out throwing the ball against the Bucs.  The Buccaneers are going to have to find some way to get pressure on Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo, or they are in for big trouble.  The Cowboys have excellent receivers in TE Jason Witten and WRs Laurent Robinson, Dez Bryant and Miles Austin and they are going to give the Bucs’ secondary fits all night long.  RB Felix Jones has outstanding speed and he’s also in line to have a good game against a Bucs’ D that is allowing 139.7 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 31, BUCCANEERS 14

23-year old QB Josh Freeman’s shoulder is barking right now and the Buccaneers should consider resting him to keep him healthy.  I don’t think that will happen this weekend as the Buccaneers have a sold out game (their second of the year) against the Cowboys this Saturday.  But, the Buccaneers’ last two games are on the road against the Panthers and Falcons.  That is where the Bucs might make the right decision to sit down Freeman if his shoulder is still hurting him.  Freeman hasn’t looked right at all this year for the Bucs.  He has played in 12 games for the Buccaneers so far this year and he has completed 270 of 441 passes (61.2%) for 2,896 yards with 12 TD passes and 18 INTs (72.5 QB Rating).  Freeman has also carried the ball 42 times for 183 yards (4.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far this year.  25-year old Josh Johnson will likely get some action at QB in the last three weeks.  He has played in 8 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has completed 19 of 36 passes (52.8%) for 246 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (60.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 10 times for 62 yards (6.2 ypc) so far this year.

The Buccaneers have signed 24-year old DE Nick Reed.  Reed played in 7 games earlier this year for the Bears and he had 6 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 23 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 23 tackles, 1 sack, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.  Reed will probably get on the field against the Cowboys this weekend as the Bucs are lacking depth along the D-Line due to a recent rash of injuries.

The Buccaneers have placed 28-year old DT John McCargo on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a triceps injury.  McCargo played in 4 games for the Bucs this year and he had 5 tackles.  He has now played in 37 games in his NFL career and he has 52 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 5 passes defensed.  The Buccaneers won’t miss him much.

The Buccaneers have placed 23-year old LB Jacob Cutrera on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to an undisclosed injury.  Cutrera  played in 8 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 3 tackles.  He has now played in 16 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 7 tackles.  This isn’t much of a loss for the Buccaneers going forward.

The Buccaneers raced out to a 14 point lead yesterday, before the roof caved in on them.  Josh Freeman had a rough game as he completed 16 of 30 passes for 181 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 26 yards (6.5 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Freeman got sacked in the end zone which caused him to lose a fumble that resulted in a TD for the Jaguars.  Josh Johnson replaced Freeman late yesterday and he completed 1 of 2 passes for 3 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT.  LeGarrette Blount led the way on the ground for the Bucs yesterday with 74 yards on 18 carries (4.1 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Kellen Winslow (2 rec, 38 yards), Preston Parker (3 rec, 35 yards) and Mike Williams (3 rec, 35 yards) led the way for the Bucs in the passing game.  But, Parker lost a fumble on a punt return that Colin Cloherty of the Jags returned 8 yards for a TD.  The Buccaneers finished up with 110 yards rushing on 24 carries (4.6 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 32 passes (53.1%) for 170 yards as they had possession of the ball for 27:11.

The offense and special teams kept setting up the Jaguars with short fields, so the Bucs’ D doesn’t deserve much of the blame for the 41 points the Jaguars scored yesterday.  Safety Tanard Jackson (7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), LB Quincy Black (6 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss) and CB E.J. Biggers (6 tackles) led the way for the Bucs in this game on D.  CB Ronde Barber (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and LB Mason Foster (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Bucs on D in this game.  The Jaguars finished up with 116 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 33 passes (57.6%) for 209 yards.  The Buccaneers are now 4-9 on the season.

The Buccaneers have placed 26-year old DE Tim Crowder on the Injured Reserve List due to a nasty concussion.  Crowder played in 10 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 14 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 41 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 88 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 7 passes defensed.  The Buccaneers are going to miss Crowder as head coach Raheem Morris likes to rotate his DEs.

The Buccaneers have lost six games in a row.  Last weekend they got thumped hard by the Panthers in Tampa (38-19)!  The Jaguars got punished 38-14 at home on Monday Night Football by the San Diego Chargers.  The Jaguars have lost 3 games in a row.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers need to come out throwing the ball in this game.  They need to get a quick lead on the Jaguars to force them to pass the ball instead of pounding Maurice Jones-Drew at the Bucs’ hapless D.  Josh Freeman is likely to be back this weekend, but if he can’t go, Josh Johnson will get another start under center.  The Jaguars don’t have much of a pass rush and their secondary is hurting bad due to injuries.  This all sets up Josh Freeman to have a big game.  He will need WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow to step up and lead the way in the passing game.  Arrelious Benn could get deep against the Jags in this game and make some plays too, as the corners the Jaguars are playing now are pretty awful.  LeGarrette Blount will also get his share of carries against a Jags’ D that is allowing 111.6 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry so far this year.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Buccaneers are giving up 141.7 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year and that doesn’t bode well for them in Jacksonville.  Maurice Jones-Drew has 1,137 yards rushing so far this year and he has also caught 29 passes for 297, as he is a main man for the Jags.  The Buccaneers need to stop Jones-Drew if they want to win this Sunday.  The safeties will need to cheat up to help the front seven of the Bucs in this game.  The Bucs will also need to get a solid pass rush on rookie QB Blaine Gabbert, as he makes mistakes with the football.

PREDICTION:  BUCCANEERS 20, JAGUARS 17