Previewing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. the Minnesota Vikings

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' quarterback Tom Brady is 5-0 all-time against the Minnesota Vikings. A sixth win vs. the franchise couldn't come at a better time for the veteran quarterback as both teams are in the hunt for a playoff spot in the NFC.

The Bucs (7-5) are one spot ahead of the Vikings (6-6) in the NFC standings and a win for either team would greatly increase their chances of reaching the postseason. Currently, Tampa Bay has an 85% chance of making the playoffs, but that drops significantly to just 63% if the Bucs lose on Sunday, according to FiveThirtyEight.

While the month of December is statistically not Brady's best month over the course of his career, he still has played some solid football when it has mattered the most. In December, Brady has thrown 133 touchdowns while only 52 interceptions and has a career winning percentage of just under 80% (79.9%) in the last month of the year.

“Well, you always get everybody’s best in December," Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said. "No matter what their record is, you always get everybody’s best because teams are either getting ready for the [playoffs, or] they’re trying to get into the [playoffs]. So, you’re going to get everybody’s best week in and week out, and he understands that. We’ve got to do a good job of clearing all the outside noise in December."

For the Vikings, quarterback Kirk Cousins has been playing some of his best football this season. Cousins is just one of three quarterbacks in the NFL with 11 games with a 90-or-higher quarterback rating this season joining Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers.

"He’s tough, he’s a competitor, you know he’s a gym rat and you know he loves the game," Bucs' head coach Bruce Arians said about Cousins. "I don’t think anything shakes him up and it’s going to be a 60-minute battle with him. One or two plays isn’t going to deter him in any way. We have all the respect in the world for him.”

Catching passes from Cousins is Pro Bowl wide receiver Adam Thielen and rookie receiver Justin Jefferson, who became just the 5th rookie in the Super Bowl era with 1,000+ rec. yards in his first 12 career games. As for Theilen, he is in search of his fourth straight game with a touchdown catch.

“They’ve got great receivers, obviously," Bucs' defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said about Jefferson and Theilen. "Between the two of them, they make big plays every week. Going into our game, I’m sure they’re feeling pretty good because of the plays we gave up [against Kansas City]."

In addition to an impressive receiving core, the Vikings feature one of the best running backs in the league. Dalvin Cook has rushed for a league-high 13 touchdowns and 1,250 yards, which is second in the NFL, behind only Derrick Henry. Bowles understands the challenge which Cook presents.

“You prepare for it, but at the same time, they have a great passing game," Bowles said. "They mix it up very well and you don’t get the runs when you think you’re going to get them. We’ve got to be ready at all times for both and we’re preparing to get ourselves better and clean up our mistakes."

Fortunately for the Bucs, their defense is number one in the league in stopping the running game, holding opponents to just 74.2 rushing yards per game. Despite this, Tampa Bay's defense has not performed up to its standard in the past two losses. Bowles explained it's just a matter of getting back to what the team did well earlier in the season.

"We don’t have to tap into an extra gear – we just have to play the way we know how to play and play our brand of football," Bowles said. "At this point of the year, everyone’s seen you [and] you’ve seen everybody, so you have to do what’s best for your team. We have to get back to what we do best and not worry so much about the opponent.”

Although the Vikings are one of the better offensive teams in the league, it's on defense where Minnesota lacks. The Vikings have allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for 261 yards per game so far this season, which ranks tied for 26th. The team's rushing defense isn't much better, checking in at 19th in the NFL. This bodes well for Brady and running back Ronald Jones, who is fourth in the league in rushing yards.

Arians knows his team will have to stay out of third-down trouble on Sunday.

"When we do have manageable third downs – knock on wood, we’ve been playing pretty penalty-free – that we convert those third downs and keep the chains moving to get that rhythm," Arians said. "When we get in the rhythm, we’re pretty good.”

Kickoff inside Raymond James Stadium between the Bucs and the Vikings is set for 1 p.m. Sunday on FOX.