3 games to watch on Sunday while Buccaneers are on bye

There's a lot of football to look forward to on Sundays, but unfortunately, Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans will have to wait a week to see their favorite team play. The Bucs are on bye in Week 9, and as a result, fans might be wondering which games they should keep an eye on when the play does kick off on Sunday without the Bucs.

We picked out three games for you to keep tabs on Sunday, all involving Tampa Bay's division race, NFC seeding and their next opponent in Week 10:

Carolina Panthers @ Green Bay Packers (1 p.m.)

Any NFC South game is important, of course, but the Carolina Panthers remain Tampa Bay's biggest competitor in the NFC South at the moment. They are two games back, but an upset win against the Green Bay Packers would bring them one game closer to contention.

Thankfully for the Bucs, that's unlikely to happen — Green Bay has lost just one game this year and hasn't lost in four games (with one of those games, against the Cowboys, coming in as a tie). The Packers are at home, too, so expect them to get it done vs. the Panthers.

Atlanta Falcons @ New England Patriots (1 p.m.)

This one's a double whammy! Not only are the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South, but the Buccaneers will face off against the New England Patriots coming off the bye week in Week 10. As a result, this matchup has two opponents the Bucs will wanna keep an eye out for.

The Patriots boast a 6-2 record and are quarterbacked by Drake Maye, who is arguably the MVP favorite as it stands. The Falcons have been in freefall the last two matchups, but their offensive coordinator, Zac Robinson, runs a similar system to the one that Josh Grizzard uses in Tampa Bay. That could help Grizzard gameplan for New England, so there could be some valuable info to be gleaned there.

Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Commanders (8:20 p.m.)

This one is a game to watch due to the seeding ramifications in the NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles are right above the Bucs, but they're on bye, too, so let's take a look at the Seahawks, who are right below Tampa Bay.

The Seahawks, at 5-2, are set to face off against a Washington Commanders team that will have Jayden Daniels back behind center. It could be a tough matchup, but Seattle has been precise so far and has a chance to move to 6-2, netting the same amount of wins as the Buccaneers. Thankfully, Tampa Bay beat them earlier in the year in Week 4, so the Bucs will hold the tiebreaker all year.

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