The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills will be facing off for the first time this season on Sunday. The Bills are coming off a tough loss to the New England Patriots on Monday, one in which the Pats beat them with the run game. This came as a surprise as the Bills have one of the stingiest defenses in the league. The tough loss is made even tougher considering they have had a day less of rest and preparation as compared to the Bucs.
The Bucs come into this battle having thwarted the ailing Atlanta Falcons last weekend. The Falcons defense was no match for Tom Brady and his aerial attacks. Last week we also saw Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski move into second place on the all-time touchdown connection list.
The Buccaneers sit at 9-3 while the Bills hold a 7-5 record. An interesting note to take in is that the lackluster Bills have not yet lost to an NFC opponent this season, something that may change come Sunday. Hopefully, Bills mafia can inspire their team to a W because things aren’t looking too pretty right now. The funny thing is that the Bucs have yet to lose to an AFC opponent all season, so I guess we’ll be seeing one of those trends broken on Sunday.
The aerial offense is the game plan the Bucs thrive off of, as they rank 1st in the NFL in passing offense. Normally, this is how they beat teams. However, the Buffalo Bills hold onto 1st place in the NFL for passing defense. This means that the Bucs will have to rely on their run-game, similarly to what the Pats did last week, and run the ball against the Bills. This will give them the best chance of winning.
Buffalo fans are used to seeing a whole bunch of Tom Brady, and some probably still have nightmares about what he did to their team in the AFC for all those years. Sunday will serve as the first time the Bills have faced Brady since he swapped the cold of Foxborough for the sunshine of Tampa Bay. Even though he’s in a different place, I would expect Tom Brady to do just fine against the Bills; and by just fine, I mean absolutely dominate.
This game will serve as a real test for the Buccaneers, especially with the playoffs coming up. Hopefully, they use this game as a marker for things to come as they progress towards the end of the season. This game can also serve as the game where they can clinch a playoff spot. All in all, I will definitely be glued to my TV this coming Sunday.