Players to Watch in Week 12 matchup

Going up against his former team in Munich, Brian Burns had perhaps his best game of the season. Burns picked up his sixth sack of the season to go with two tackles for loss and a season-high nine total tackles (four solo). The veteran outside linebacker also finished with seven total pressures, according to NGS, which matched his career-high. He did this on just 25 pass rushes for an impressive 28.0 percent pressure rate. Four of his pressures came in under 2.5 seconds, which gives him 21 quick pressures on the season, tied for the fifth-most in the league.

Burns lined up on the left EDGE on 69.5 percent of his snaps through the first five weeks of the season. But following the injury to Kayvon Thibodeaux in Week 5, Burns has played 82.1 percent of his snaps on the right EDGE. It is still too early to tell if Thibodeaux will be able to return for Sunday’s game, but if he doesn’t, Burns could be looking at another positive matchup.

Buccaneers three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tristan Wirfs suffered a knee injury in Week 10, which head coach Todd Bowles classified as “week-to-week.” If Wirfs is unable to go, Justin Skule will start in his place. Skule has allowed 20 pressures on 170 pass blocking snaps this season, according to NGS. His 11.8 percent pressure rate allowed is the highest of any Buccaneers offensive lineman, while his 4.4 percent sack rate allowed is the highest by any offensive lineman in the NFL with at least 150 pass blocking snaps.

After a somewhat slow start to the season, Bobby Okereke started to pick things up before the bye. In the first seven weeks, the veteran inside linebacker did not top eight total tackles in any game. In the Giants’ last three outings, Okereke has nine or more tackles in each game and a total of 34 tackles during that span. The 28-year-old also has a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a half-sack and a tackle for loss during that span.

Okereke leads the team with 75 total tackles on the season, while his two forced fumbles are tied with Dru Phillips for the most on the defense. Additionally, the linebacker has been on the field for 100 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in seven of 10 games, and at least 95 percent of the snaps in all but one.

The sixth-year linebacker should play a pivotal role in Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay’s offense has been one of the best in the league this season, and its run game has been a big factor in that. The Buccaneers rank 10^th in total rushing yards and fifth in rushing yards per attempt, as they’ve leaned heavily on both Rachaad White and Bucky Irving. While Irving, the second-leading rookie rusher behind Tyrone Tracy with 492 rushing yards, has gotten more action in the run game, White has played a bigger role in the passing game, especially since Chris Godwin was lost for the season. In the three games since Godwin’s injury, White has caught 14 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns, and now has 37 receptions for 291 yards and four receiving touchdowns on the season. Okereke and the rest of the Giants’ defense should see plenty of both backs on Sunday.