Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Game Facts and a Prediction
The Buffalo Bills have ostensibly been watching helplessly as their playoff hopes continue to slip away. Last Monday night's 14-10 loss to the New England Patriots was their third in the last five games, dropping them to 7-5 and further underscoring severe recent offensive shortcomings.
In their last three losses, they have scored a total of 31 points, which is nearly six points less than their average scoring output in each of their wins.
Sunday, they visit the high-scoring Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the defending Super Bowl champs who are having a much better season this year than they did in 2020, when they didn't even win their own division.
Here's a closer look at the matchup.
THE BASICS
Game: Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Date: Dec. 12, 4:25 p.m.
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.
Records: Bills (7-5); Buccaneers (9-3).
Betting info: Buccaneers by 3½. Over/under, 54.
TV: CBS.
INJURIES
Bills: DT Star Lotulelei (toe) and TE Tommy Sweeney (hip) are out. FB Reggie Gilliam (ankle) and DE Efe Obada (hip) are questionable.
LB A.J. Klein remains on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
Bucs: S Jordan Whitehead (calf) is out. WR Jaelon Darden (concussion), CB Jamel Dean (concussion), DE William Gholston (wrist, knee) and C Ryan Jensen (ankle) are questionable.
WR Antonio Brown and S Mike Edwards are on the Reserve/Suspended list.
ABOUT THE BILLS
Regardless of what they're saying, the Bills are in full-blown crisis mode following a loss that strongly suggested head coach Sean McDermott is less than thrilled with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who calls the plays. When asked after their 14-10 loss to New England about the job Daboll was doing, McDermott replied by saying he thought his team missed some opportunities.
Although both claimed the next day that they have always been on the same page, there hasn't been any overwhelming proof since going 3-4 following a 38-21 win in Kansas City, that improved their record to 4-1.
Making matters worse, star cornerback Tre'Davious White was lost to a season-ending ACL injury during a Thanksgiving game at New Orleans. But the secondary still should be formidable with safeties Micah Hyde (47 tackles, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries) and Jordan Poyer (67 tackles and team-high five interceptions) manning the back end while working with cornerbacks Levi Wallace, Taron Johnson and Dane Jackson, who has replaced White.
Quarterback Josh Allen has not been as accurate as his breakout season of 2020 but still has 26 TD passes in 12 games and has rushed for more than 400 yards.
His top target, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, has 71 catches for 898 yards and seven TDs. Running back Devin Singletary continues to lead the Bills in rushing yards (495) and yards per attempt (4.6). But the Bills have struggled all season with consistency in establishing their running game.
ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS
After coming over from New England last season, quarterback Tom Brady led the Bucs to their second Super Bowl championship and is following that season up with perhaps his finest ever at age 44.
Brady is leading the league in passing attempts (347), completions (508), passing yards (3,771) and touchdown passes (34) while having the lowest sack percentage (2.7).
A big reason for his efficiency is perhaps the finest offensive line in the league and a superior all-around running back in Leonard Fournette (152 carries, 665 yards, seven rushing TDs, 58 receptions, 402 yards, two TD catches).
Linebackers Shaq Barrett (team-highs of 7.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, 15 QB hits and two fumble recoveries), Devin White (100 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 14 QB hits) and Lavonte David (77 tackles) key a defense that has produced 14 interceptions, including three by safety Mike Edwards, who is serving a three-game suspension for using a fake COVID-19 vaccination card.
PREDICTION
This late afternoon matchup will be seen by most TV markets across the nation for a reason: It should be a high-scoring, back-and-forth exciting contest from start to finish and may even require overtime to settle.
The Bills have had more than their share of problems on offense, but most have been related to their inability to establish and maintain a running game.
The perfect weather conditions expected for this matchup will enable both teams to go to the air as much as they want, which could bode well for the underdog Bills.
However, they better not get too far behind in this game, because they're not a good comeback team. They're much better at running out ahead.
The feeling here is that they won't be able to do that very much against Tampa Bay.
Bucs 37, Bills 33.
Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
