Last Sunday, the Buccaneers lost to the Arizona Cardinals 40-7.  This weekend, the Bucs face the newly relocated Los Angeles Rams for the first game in Tampa Bay this season.

After a crushing loss, the Buccaneers have to rebound. The next two games are against the champions of each conference, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. That is a tough set up of games, so a loss to the Rams could possibly send them into a 1-4 tailspin before the bye week.

One player who has to rebound is Quarterback Jameis Winston. This season, Winston has five touchdowns to five turnovers, including a pick six. Winston has shown to bounce back from devastating losses in the past, where Winston led the Buccaneers to a victory against the Saints in New Orleans after losing to Marcus Mariota and the Titans in Winston’s career debut. If Winston bounces back, the Buccaneers should be able to get the win.

The Buccaneers defense also has to bounce back. Pro bowl linebacker Lavonte David did not record a tackle last week in Arizona, so a big game is needed from him. Second year linebacker Kwon Alexander also has room for improvement despite leading the NFL in tackles going into the Thursday Night game. Should both linebackers get back to their normal selves, the defense will improve.

The Buccaneers secondary also needs to bounce back. The coverage in the secondary was not great, leading to many Cardinal touchdowns. Cornerbacks Brent Grimes and Vernon Hargreaves III along with safeties Bradley McDougald and Chris Conte have an easy matchup, as there are no great receivers to cover as where the secondary had to guard Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald previously.

An aspect of the team that actually played well last week was the offensive line. Despite this, the line has a tough matchup against a stacked Rams defensive line that includes Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Robert Quinn. The Buccaneers offensive line will have to do better than they did last year against the Rams where  Winston was constantly under pressure. There is a chance for improvement, as now left tackle Donovan Smith and right guard Ali Marpet are now in their second season, and Marpet had just came off an injury last season when facing the Rams.

Two other players that need to improve is Running Back Charles Sims and Kicker Roberto Aguayo.

Sims was forced into action after an injury to Doug Martin, and was mostly ineffective during the meaningful part of last weeks game. Sims adds one aspect to the game that Martin doesn’t include in his arsenal: the ability to catch the football. Sims has been very effective at catching passes from Jameis Winston, having caught five touchdowns since Winston has arrived in Tampa Bay.

Roberto Aguayo didn’t have a terrible game, he just missed his one field goal attempt in the third quarter after not playing a snap in the entire first half besides the opening kickoff. Despite this, Aguayo needs to make kicks as that’s what he was brought in to Tampa Bay for. Simple as that. If he can’t be consistent in kicking field goals, that could be an issue for the team. He has done well on kickoffs this season, so he has been consistent in that aspect of the game.

Defensive End Noah Spence will also need to step up in this game despite recording his first career sack last week. This is due to the possibility that the team will be without Robert Ayers and Jaquies Smith due to injury. Spence has been used mainly as a situational pass rusher, mainly going in on passing situations. Now, Spence is possibly going to have to play against the run as well, so Spence will need to prove himself.

The chemistry between Wide Receiver Vincent Jackson and Winston was an issue, or lack of thereof. Winston and Jackson has to build upon this, as the offensive is very effective when all cylinders of the team are clicking and everything is going there way, which can only occur when Jackson gathers attention from the defense to free up Mike Evans.

Speaking of Mike Evans, he needs to continue his impressive play, as he was one of the few bright spots in last week’s crushing loss. Evans made a nice touchdown catch on a long pass from Winston, scoring the only points of the game. One negative aspect, however, was that Evans appeared to stop running on the first interception of the day, which gave time for Pro Bowl Cornerback Patrick Peterson to catch up to him and make the interception. Overall, Evans should continue to play like he has this season, as he as began to bounce back from a season where he caught only three touchdowns.

The Tight End position also needs to step up, not due to bad performance, but due to injury and off-the-field discipline. The Buccaneers waived TE Austin Seferain-Jenkins on Friday, and Luke Stocker will miss the upcoming game against the Rams with an injury, leaving only Brandon Myers, Cameron Brate and Alan Cross as the only TEs on the roster. Brate will need to step up in the passing game to negate the loss of Seferain-Jenkins. Brate already has chemistry with Jameis Winston, so this will not be a huge problem to overcome.

In total, the Buccaneers need to improve and bounce back from their demoralizing loss to the Arizona Cardinals, as it is vital if the team wants to be in the running for the playoffs come December.