After dropping a battle of division leaders in emphatic vogue in San Francisco on Sunday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will regroup in Week 15 and put together for a go to from one other prime playoff contender, the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Buccaneers will play host to the Bengals at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, December 18, with kickoff scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET. The sport will likely be broadcast to a nationwide viewers by FOX.
Tampa Bay’s 35-7 loss to the 49ers in Week 14 dropped the staff again beneath .500, however its 6-7 document continues to be adequate for first place in the NFC South over the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers, each of whom stand at 5-8 with 4 video games to play. The Buccaneers have remaining video games in opposition to the Panthers in Week 17 and the Falcons in Week 18 however should first maintain enterprise in opposition to the high-powered Bengals.
Cincinnati gained its personal intradivisional matchup on Sunday, taking down the Cleveland Browns by a 23-10 rating. Vast receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who returned from a four-game damage absence final week to beat the Chiefs, went off for 119 yards and a landing on 10 carries as Cincinnati gained its fifth recreation in a row and improved to 9-4. That allowed the Bengals to maintain tempo with the 9-4 Baltimore Ravens atop the NFC North.
The Buccaneers will likely be in search of their first victory in 5 tries in opposition to AFC groups this season, having beforehand misplaced to the opposite three groups in the AFC North in addition to the AFC West-leading Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. Tampa Bay has an all-time document fo 7-5 in opposition to Cincinnati, although the Bengals have seize the final two conferences. Every of the final 4 video games in the sequence has been determined by three factors or much less, with every staff successful twice.
The go to from Cincinnati begins a final-month stretch run because the Buccaneers attempt to maintain their title hopes alive by successful the division after which probably happening a run in the playoffs. Head Coach Todd Bowles acknowledged after the troublesome loss in San Francisco on Sunday that the Buccaneers wanted to “determine who they need to be” over the ultimate 4 weeks, and quarterback Tom Brady confused that the staff has nonetheless but to play an entire recreation.
