Vikings Defense Will Test Struggles For Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Offense

If there is one area that Bruce Arians wants to see improvement from his Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense this season, it's on third downs.

The Minnesota Vikings won't make that easy on Sunday, even after the Bucs' much-needed bye week.

"They've done a good job on third down [and] getting teams in a little bit longer situations," Bucs head coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday. "They've got a great blitz package – [head coach] Mike Zimmer is one of the best there is, one of the guys I respect the most in this business. They have a heck of a third-down package and they know what they're doing in the red zone."

Tampa Bay sits right around league average - No. 14 - in third down conversion percentage at 42.95%, per TeamRankings.com. Comparatively speaking, Minnesota stands at No. 6 in third down conversion percentage allowed, at 36.36%.

Arians has noted as the Bucs' offense has struggled in recent weeks that the team needed to improve on third downs, particularly by being more successful on earlier downs to set up advantageous distances to convert on thirds. Specifically, Arians wants to see these issues corrected at the beginning of games.

"We've got to convert those early third downs and get some scores like we did earlier in the season," Arians said last Monday, the day following Tampa Bay's 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Over the last two contests, the Bucs have punted on five-of-six first quarter drives, otherwise scoring a touchdown on a 10-play, 75-yard drive that went two plays into the second quarter against the Los Angeles Rams. Three of the drives have been three-and-outs, and the other two have ended in fourth-and-6+ yard situations.

Creating and converting manageable third downs, Arians believes, will prevent Tampa Bay from falling behind early on the offensive side of the ball, which can open up Ronald Jones II and the run game.

"I think we'll see [the offense click] more on Sunday," Arians said. "I feel very comfortable that everybody's on the same page right now."

When it comes to the red zone, the Bucs' own the No. 6 touchdown-scoring offense in the league, while the Vikings rank No. 3 in red zone TD-scoring defense. If Tampa has found a way to create manageable third down situations, and convert them, the red zone should serve as a true iron-sharpens-iron matchups for the Bucs' offense and Vikings' defense.

Coming off of a bye week, the Bucs are set to host the Vikings on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. inside Raymond James Stadium.