Winners of back-to-back games for the first time since Weeks 1 and 2, the 6-6 Bucs return home to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon to host the 2-10 Raiders in a Super Bowl XXXVII rematch. It will be Tampa Bay’s “Red Out” game, which will mark the first time this season that the team has broken out their red jerseys at home.

With wins over the Giants and Panthers in Weeks 12 and 13, respectively, the Bucs now find themselves firmly back in the playoff hunt. Atlanta lost last week as well, meaning Tampa Bay gained even more ground on the division-leading Falcons. Both teams are tied atop the NFC South at 6-6 heading into Week 14, though it’s the Dirty Birds who hold the tiebreaker.

Still, a win over the Raiders would get the Bucs to 7-6 – above .500 for the first time since they were 4-3 heading into Week 8 – and it would keep the pressure on the Falcons. Of course, a Tampa Bay win and an Atlanta loss to Minnesota would give Todd Bowles and his team the division lead heading into Week 15.

But back to Sunday’s game. Here’s a preview of what is sure to be a hard-fought game between the NFL’s two pirate teams.

The Last Time…

Bucs TE Rob Gronkowski – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs and Raiders last met in 2020, when Tampa Bay went to Las Vegas and won handily. To the Raiders’ credit, they hung around in that game into the fourth quarter, trailing just 24-20 after a Daniel Carlson field goal at the 12:43 mark. But from there, the eventual Super Bowl champions went on to score 21 straight points to win 45-20.

Tom Brady finished that game 33-of-45 for 369 yards and four touchdowns while also adding a rushing touchdown to get the scoring started for Tampa Bay. He threw touchdowns to Rob Gronkowski, Scotty Miller, Chris Godwin and Tyler Johnson, plus Ronald Jones II found the end zone in the fourth quarter.

Devin White sacked Derek Carr three times in the game, plus Antoine Winfield Jr. picked off Carr in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders have a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series with the Bucs, though Tampa Bay has won two of the last three and of course won the only playoff meeting between the two teams – a 48-21 victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.

How The Bucs And Raiders Are Trending

The Bucs are finally back on the right track, as they’ve won two straight games out of the bye week after heading into the bye on a four-game losing streak. They’re back to .500 at 6-6 and find themselves with a prime opportunity to put some pressure on the Falcons, who are clinging to the NFC South lead thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker. If Tampa Bay can beat Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon, an Atlanta loss to 10-2 Minnesota would give Todd Bowles and his team the division lead heading into Week 15.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving Photo by: USA Today

A big reason why the Bucs have come out of their bye week with two straight wins (outside of the weaker schedule, as the wins have come against the 2-10 Giants and the 3-9 Panthers) has been the run game. After ranking dead last in the NFL in both 2022 and 2023, Tampa Bay’s run game has risen all the way up to eighth in the league at 137.2 yards per game. Part of it has been offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s scheme. Another part has been the combination of rookie Bucky Irving and third-year back Rachaad White. And another element has been the improvement of the Bucs’ offensive line.

All of those parts have worked together to create a rushing attack that is driving the offense right now. In the win over the Giants, four different players ran for a touchdown: Irving, White, Sean Tucker and quarterback Baker Mayfield. Then, in the victory over the Panthers, the Bucs leaned heavily on the run in the second half and saw Irving post a performance worthy of NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

On defense, Tampa Bay is still plenty shaky. Bowles’ side of the ball had no trouble against New York’s horrible offense, but it struggled with a resurgent Bryce Young and his Panthers last week. The injury bug continues to bite that side of the ball, too, as Jordan Whitehead, Mike Edwards and Tykee Smith have all missed time in the secondary. K.J. Britt is banged up as well, leaving the already-thin linebacking corps even thinner for the time being. It’s been a struggle this year for the Buccaneer defense, and if this team ends up missing the playoffs, it’ll be the defense that is most responsible.

Whatever patchwork group the Bucs run out there on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium will be facing a Raiders offense that, to put it lightly, is pretty bad. It never seemed like Vegas had all that much of a plan at the quarterback position, as it flipped between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell. Those two have combined for 13 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while Desmond Ridder has gotten some action as well and thrown for 138 yards and a touchdown over three games.

Raiders HC Antonio Pierce – Photo by: USA Today

It doesn’t help that the Raiders’ run game is the league’s worst, averaging only 78.1 yards per game on the ground. Neither Alexander Mattison nor Zamir White are getting the job done this year, which causes even more problems for a team with a shaky offensive line and no real quarterback. It’ll be O’Connell against the Bucs on Sunday, and at the very least, he has rookie phenom Brock Bowers and veteran wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to throw to.

Vegas has been in a lot of its games this year, but it has lost eight straight games after a 2-2 start for a reason. The offense having 23 turnovers – which is tied for the most in the league – is part of the problem. The other side of that is the Raider defense only having five takeaways this season. That makes for a -18 turnover differential, which is the NFL’s worst mark by five turnovers. Antonio Pierce’s defense has five interceptions and zero fumble recoveries, and that’s as big of a problem as anything else right now.

Here’s how the Bucs and Raiders stack up heading into Week 14:

Bucs Offense: T-5th in scoring offense (27.9 PPG), 6th in total offense (375.8 yards per game), 6th in passing offense (238.8 yards per game), 8th in rushing offense (137.2 yards per game)

Raiders Offense: 27th in scoring offense (18.6 PPG), 25th in total offense (304.4 yards per game), 14th in passing offense (226.3 yards per game), 32nd in rushing offense (78.1 yards per game)

Bucs Defense: 25th in scoring defense (24.7 points allowed per game), 28th in total defense (375.4 yards allowed per game), 30th in passing defense (258.3 yards allowed per game), 12th in rushing defense (117.2 yards allowed per game)

Raiders Defense: 28th in scoring defense (27.8 points allowed per game), T-15th in total defense (327.7 yards allowed per game), 14th in passing defense (212.9 yards allowed per game), 11th in rushing defense (114.8 yards allowed per game)

As of Wednesday, the Bucs were 6.5-point favorites with the Over/Under set at 46 (per BetUS).

What Might Decide This Bucs-Raiders Matchup?

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

While Baker Mayfield grinded it out and came through when it mattered late in last Sunday’s win over the Panthers, he struggled for much of the game. He threw two interceptions, which were his first two since Week 8. He had gone three straight games without an interception, and he needs to get back to playing clean football on Sunday against a Vegas defense that is horrible at forcing turnovers. If the Bucs offensive line can keep him upright and on schedule, he should be able to link up with Mike Evans, Cade Otton and the rest of his receivers early and often.

As important as it will be to get Mayfield back on track, Tampa Bay might as well keep leaning on the run game until it stops working. Bucky Irving is coming off a career day and is well on his way to the franchise’s first 1,000-yard rushing season since Doug Martin in 2015, and while he’s been overshadowed a lot of the time by the rookie, Rachaad White is quietly having a strong season himself. The Raiders have been good against the run this year, but that won’t stop Liam Coen from creating opportunities for Irving and White to get the offense moving.

Defensively, the Bucs are going to be short-handed again. But this is a Vegas offense that really only has one or two weapons and turns the ball over at a league-leading rate. The Raiders have 12 interceptions and 11 fumbles, and this is a defense that is at its best when it’s taking the ball away. Todd Bowles‘ unit hasn’t been creating enough takeaways this year, and it’s time for the likes of Antoine Winfield Jr., Lavonte David, Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum and Yaya Diaby to step up and complement the exceptional play of Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey. Coming away with at least two turnovers in this game would be a step forward for this defense.

No matter who has been under center for the Raiders this year, the offensive line hasn’t done a great job protecting him. Vegas has allowed 41 sacks, which is the sixth-most in the NFL. Aidan O’Connell is coming off a career day last Friday in a 19-17 loss at Kansas City, throwing for 340 yards and two touchdowns in that game. The Raiders need to protect him better, as he was sacked three times in that game and Bowles will be looking to get some pressure and ramp up the Bucs’ sack total against an offensive line that is giving up a lot of them.

Raiders TE Brock Bowers – Photo by: USA Today

For O’Connell, much of the passing game is going to go through rookie tight end Brock Bowers. The former Georgia Bulldog is the Raiders’ leading receiver this year with 84 catches on 113 targets for 884 yards (10.5 avg.) and four touchdowns. He very well could go over the 1,000-yard mark on Sunday, as he’s facing a Tampa Bay defense that hasn’t fared well against some of the league’s top tight ends this season.

But that’s where the rest of the offense comes into play. If the Bucs only have to focus on Bowers and no semblance of a run game or no pass-catcher other than Jakobi Meyers, they may be in decent shape.

Defensively, the Raiders need to do something – anything – to force some turnovers. This is a 2-10 team with nothing to play for against a 6-6 team fighting for its playoff hopes on its home field. The 2-10 team, which has lost eight straight games, will have a hard time coming away with a victory without some momentum-changing takeaways. Vegas has a league-worst five turnovers this season and will have to get to Mayfield for a sack-fumble, pick him off or create something on special teams in order to steal this one.

Key Players To Watch

Bucs WR Mike Evans – Photo by: USA Today

Mike Evans is coming off his first 100-yard game of the season, going for 118 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s overtime win against the Panthers. With Chris Godwin out for the season and no true No. 2 stepping up in his absence, Evans will continue to be the focal point of the Tampa Bay passing game down the stretch. That might help in his quest to extend his 1,000-yard season streak, but he may also draw more attention. Another big performance from the future Hall of Famer would be big for the Buccaneer offense on Sunday.

Yaya Diaby has had an interesting season. He only has two sacks in 12 games, which is a problem considering he’s supposed to be the Bucs’ top pass rusher off the edge. But he still has the 20th-best pass rush grade of any edge defender in the NFL this season (per PFF) and has 46 total pressures, which is top-10. It’s time for those pressures to be converted into sacks, and Sunday is as good a time as any to get going.

There’s no better player on this Vegas offense than Brock Bowers. He was hot name throughout his college years at Georgia and after being drafted by the Raiders with the 13th overall pick in April, he certainly hasn’t disappointed. His 884 receiving yards are 208 more than the next receiver (Jakobi Meyers), and he has 25 more catches and 27 more targets than the next-closest pass-catcher (both Meyers). He’ll be a big focal point on Sunday, especially against a Bucs defense that can’t handle top-tier tight ends.

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby Photo by: USA Today

No matter how bad the Raiders continue to be, Maxx Crosby remains as productive as ever. One of the league’s top pass rushers, Crosby has a team-high 7.5 sacks in 11 games this season and has 16 tackles for loss to go with them. He can wreck a game, and it’s essential for the Tampa Bay offensive line to be up to the task on Sunday. As bad as Vegas has been at creating turnovers, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before one of Crosby’s sacks turns into a crucial sack-fumble.

Bucs vs. Raiders Game Information

When: Sunday, December 8
Where: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. ET
TV: CBS – Spero Dedes (Play by Play), Adam Archuleta (Analyst), Aditi Kinkhabwala (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Carlos Bohorquez (Play by Play), Martín Gramática (Analyst), Santiago Gramática (Reporter)