Matt Stafford To Todd Bowles: Blitz Me
November 23rd, 2025
Blitzing could backfire tonight.
You live by the sword, you shall die by the sword.
Joe isn’t trying to be biblical about football but if the following plays out the way Joe fears it could, the Rams could hang a biblical loss on a Todd Bowles’ defense tonight.
It seems, by way of Sarah Barshop (apologies to Ms. Barshop but you don’t know how hard it was for Joe not to type out “bar hop.”), Rams quarterback Matt Stafford leads the NFL in touchdown passes, in part, because he feasts on blitzes.
QB Matthew Stafford has 20 passing touchdowns against the blitz this season, which leads the NFL. According to ESPN Research, he is tied with Tom Brady (2012) for the third most by any QB in a season since ESPN began tracking blitzes. On Sunday, he will be facing a Bucs team that has blitzed at the highest rate of any team (37%) since coach Todd Bowles joined the team in 2019. Tampa Bay is blitzing 33% of the time this season.
So, it’s mano y mano. Strength vs. strength.
Given how Stafford is so good this season, and Bowles’ defense is so bad (specifically since the bye), Joe isn’t sure how any Bucs fan has any confidence in tonight’s game, especially with the Bucs’ best cornerback out in Jamel Dean.
It would be really nice if the Bucs could get Stafford on the ground a few times. But if they couldn’t do that against Drake Maye (second-most sacked quarterback) and Josh Allen, why in the world would we expect the perpetually flaccid Bucs edge rush to suddenly stiff up and get the job done?
Even Mike Smith is biting his fingernails over this.