CLEVELAND -- Whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have Ryan Fitzpatrick or Jameis Winston starting at quarterback, the end result is the same, plenty of points being scored to the tune of an average of 28.2 per contest.
And despite Tampa Bay’s three-game losing streak, the Cleveland Browns are well aware of the challenges the Buccaneers will pose on Sunday in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
“This is a very talented offense,” Browns safety Damarious Randall said. “Many people haven’t been able to stop them offensively this year, and the times that they were stopped, it seemed like the offense was stopping themselves. It’s a very talented group, and I’m just looking forward to the challenge.
“The offense just looks explosive, no matter who they put back there, to be honest. They have a lot of weapons, and you typically don’t see this in a lot of offenses, but they are one of the most talented offenses up in the league.”
Mike Evans leads the way for the Buccaneers with 33 receptions, which he has turned into 484 yards and three touchdowns. Despite not being Tampa Bay’s leading yards getter, Evans averages 14.7 yards per reception.
Then, there are DeSean Jackson and Chris Godwin, who have combined to catch 42 passes for 750 yards and seven touchdowns. Godwin has the team lead with four touchdown catches, and Jackson has a Buccaneers-best 501 receiving yards.
“Explosive,” Randall said of Tampa Bay’s offense. “They look good on film. I am pretty sure they are one of the best if not the No. 1 passing offense in the league. They look really good.
“Mike’s seemed like he’s been open a lot, and the guys he’s (Winston) throwing it to seem open. They just seem like an offense that is not very easy to stop, and obviously, every game, they’ve been putting up 30-something points, and we’re just going to try to do what we can do to slow them down.”
The Browns head into Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers after their second-worst defensive showing of the season, a 38-14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Chargers (4-2) got 132 yards and three rushing touchdowns from running back Melvin Gordon, and two passing scores from quarterback Philip Rivers to wide receiver Tyrell Williams, who gained 118 yards on three receptions, on the way to the dominant win over the Browns (2-3-1).
“People get paid to play just the same way we do, but takeaways do hide a lot of things,” Randall said.
“It’s just like a bend, but don’t break type of defense, and the key to the defense is not allowing them to score points. If we can take the ball away, no matter if it’s on the first play of the drive, or if it’s on third-and-goal up on the one-yard line, that’s just something that we just try to do on each and every play.”
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