Week 8 kicks off with Thursday Night Football when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head north to face the Buffalo Bills. Tampa has just lost two straight home games, the most recent being a 16-13 loss to Atlanta as 3-point favorites.
Buffalo just lost to divisional rival New England, falling 29-25 as 7.5-point favorites. Both teams have playoff aspirations and are coming off a loss.
Buccaneers Look to Overturn 3-3 Record
Tampa has won both away games, but has lost three of its last four games, with all three losses coming on its home field.
Interestingly, the Bucs are undefeated away from home; they won by three points at Minnesota and by 17 at New Orleans.
Tampa hopes to recapture some of that success, as they have two straight losses, but are still a half-game behind Atlanta in the NFC South.
In their last game, the Bucs could only generate one touchdown, which came on a 40-yard pass to Mike Evans in the first quarter. They will need to find more offense to keep up with the Bills in Buffalo.
Baker Mayfield has been a pleasant surprise in Tampa Bay and has led the team to a .500 record in six games. His production has dropped in the last two games, he only threw one touchdown pass and had two interceptions in the two losses.
On the year he averages 227.2 passing yards per game, and his QBR of 58.6 ranks 14th in the league.
Mike Evans continues to be the top receiving threat for Tampa, the 6'5″ receiver averages 78.0 yards per game with four touchdowns and eight receptions of 20+ yards.
Chris Godwin is an excellent second receiver, averaging 66.3 yards per game, but has yet to find the end zone this season.
The Buccaneers struggle in the ground game, their leading rusher is Rachaad White, who averages just 44.3 yards per game. White has the only ground touchdown the Buccaneers have generated this season.
#1⃣ in the NFL in red zone defense 👏 pic.twitter.com/xv1UdTJk9u
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 25, 2023
Buffalo Seeks Fifth Victory of the Season
Buffalo's season has had several high and low moments as they progress through their schedule.
Buffalo has been favored in every game they have played this season, but suffered losses to the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and most recently the New England Patriots.
Against the Patriots they suffered their worst loss so far, as they were favored by more than a touchdown and had the lead with less than a minute to play.
When quarterback Josh Allen was asked about his team's struggles this year, he has always remained positive.
Allen ranks fifth in the NFL in total passing yards with 1,841 on the season, which equates to 263.0 yards per game.
He is tied for the league lead in touchdown passes with 15, but is also tied for second in the league in interceptions with seven.
His QBR is 74.7, which ranks third overall, but Buffalo would like to see him limit his turnovers.
Stefon Diggs ranks fourth in the league in receiving yards and averages 96.9 yards per game with six touchdowns, though he appears to be frequently unhappy in Buffalo and declined to speak to the media after the game against the Patriots.
Gabe Davis is a solid second receiver, averaging 49.6 yards per game with four touchdowns. Freshman Dalton Kincaid has assumed the starting tight end role and has 25 receptions on the season.
James Cook is the leading rusher in Buffalo, averaging 59.9 yards per game and has three runs of 20+ yards.
