New England Patriots vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 5 things to watch

The New England Patriots are facing some early adversity in 2017, traveling to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in week 5. Here’s 5 things to watch…

What is going on with the New England Patriots this season? Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a contender in the NFC South this season?

These are some questions that could be at least partly answered on Thursday Night Football, as Tom Brady and company travel to Florida to take on Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers.

Here are five things to watch for in this interesting Thursday night game…

1. Can the Bucs get off the field on 3rd down?

One of the first keys to this game and one of the most important things to watch early on will be whether or not the Buccaneers can get off the field on third down defensively.

The Patriots are converting over 44 percent of their third down attempts as an offense this year, and through three games, the Buccaneers are allowing 50 percent to be converted defensively.

Red alert!

That’s not a good statistic if the Bucs are going to upset — yes, I said it — the Patriots on Thursday night on their home field.

I’ve seen too many games of Tom Brady’s over the years. If you can’t get him and the Patriots offense off the field in favorable third down situations for your defense, you are not going to be able to hang around for very long.

The Bucs better have a plan in place to get their offense more opportunities by limiting the number of third downs the Patriots convert.