STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

NFL Team Report - Tampa Bay Buccaneers</h2><br>PLAYER NOTES<p></p> --WR DeSean Jackson has a thumb injury and was limited in practice Wednesday. Jackson has struggled with Jameis Winston at quarterback. He had only three catches for 19 yards on eight targets in the Bucs' win over San Francisco.<p></p> --CB Carlton Davis has a knee injury he suffered in Sunday's game against the 49ers and did not practice on Wednesday. If Davis is unable to go, the Bucs would likely turn to Ryan Smith.<p></p> --CB Ryan Smith recorded the first interception in Sunday's game for the Bucs since Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.<p></p> --CB M.J. Stewart, who did not play last week, has a foot injury and did not participate in Wednesday's practice.<p></p> --T Demar Dotson, who was unable to finish Sunday's game against the 49ers, has a knee and hamstring injury and was limited in Wednesday's practice.<p></p> --DT Gerald McCoy has an ankle and shoulder injury and was limited in Wednesday's practice.<p></p> --DE Jason Pierre-Paul, who finished Sunday's win over the 49ers, was limited in Wednesday's practice with a knee injury.<p></p> PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: S Jordan Whitehead had a breakout game against the 49ers. The rookie recorded a team-high 11 tackles and had a pass defensed in the Bucs' 27-9 win over the Niners. It was a clutch performance for Whitehead, a fourth-round pick from North Carolina, who also did a good job in pass coverage on 49ers tight end George Kittle.<p></p> GAME PLAN: The Bucs have tried a lot in recent games to achieve more balance on offense. The explosive plays may be down, but they are running the football more consistently and helping a porous defense. At home the last two games, the Bucs have allowed 16 and nine points, respectively. They still are hit hard by injuries in the secondary. But the defensive line is playing better, having produced eight sacks in the past two games.<p></p> The Bucs will hope that quarterback Jameis Winston can protect the football and use his receivers - Mike Evans, Adam Humphries, Chris Godwin and tight end Cameron Brate - to move the football and dominate time of possession.<p></p> Defensively, the Bucs may not have an answer for running back Christian McCaffrey, but they do get back linebacker Lavonte David and maybe safety Justin Evans this week.<p></p>MATCHUPS TO WATCH<p></p> --Bucs LB Lavonte David vs. Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey. David is coming off a sprained MCL that forced him to miss two games. McCaffrey played 95 percent of the Panthers' offensive snaps last week and had a franchise-record 237 yards from scrimmage, becoming the first player in team history to top 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game and only the second player to do so since 2011.<p></p> --Bucs WR Mike Evans vs. Panthers CB James Bradberry. Evans was targeted 10 times in the Bucs' first meeting and caught only one pass for 16 yards, one of his worst games as a pro. Credit Bradberry, who did an excellent job in coverage. Evans became the third player to go over 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first five seasons. 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