Coming out of their bye week last Sunday, the Bucs were beginning a tough three-game stretch against some of the top contenders in the league. First, it was a home game against the Patriots and then they were set for back-to-back road games against the Bills and Rams. And as you’ll certainly remember, the start of that stretch didn’t start well for Tampa Bay, as it fell 28-23 to New England at Raymond James Stadium and will now hit the road for two more tough contests at 6-3 and needing to avoid a real slide.

The next test comes Sunday afternoon in Orchard Park, where the 6-3 Bills are looking to avoid back-to-back losses themselves after last week’s embarrassing blowout loss to the Dolphins in Miami. This feels pretty close to a must-win for both of these teams to an extent, if only to avoid the possibility of letting things spiral before December rolls around.

Tampa Bay does come into this game in a better position in its division than Buffalo does, holding a 1.5-game lead over Carolina in the NFC South while sitting with the No. 4 seed in the NFC playoff picture. Meanwhile, the Bills come in a full two games behind the Patriots in the AFC East and currently hold the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

But even with the 1.5-game lead in the division, this feels like a game the Bucs need. They’ve already lost two of their last three games and slid from the No. 2 seed in the NFC to No. 4, and another loss will push them farther and farther away from the race for one of the top seeds, which would eventually mean being saddled with a tough first-round playoff matchup against the top Wild Card team, which could be any one of the Lions, Seahawks, Rams or Packers. Not only that, but a loss ramps up the pressure even more for this team as it heads to Los Angeles to face the Rams in primetime next Sunday night.

As usual, there will be other storylines to follow in what is yet another NFC-AFC showdown for Todd Bowles and Co., and that’s the reason we’re here right now. As we do every week here on PewterReport.com, it’s now time to take a look at what else is on the line during this week’s game. Of course, we’re talking about some of the records and milestones that some key Bucs are moving toward.

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

Last week, Emeka Egbuka passed Horace Copeland for the fifth-most receiving yards by a rookie in Bucs history and tied O.J. Howard for the seventh-most receiving touchdowns by a rookie in team history. Cade Otton passed O.J. Howard for the sixth-most career receiving yards by a Buccaneer tight end, too.

Now, let’s see where things stand heading into Sunday’s game at Highmark Stadium:

Baker Mayfield

Mayfield needs one win to tie Brad Johnson (26) for the fifth-most by a quarterback in team history.

Mayfield is still searching for his second 300-yard passing game of the season, and when he gets it, he’ll pass Doug Williams (10) for the fourth-most 300-yard passing games in Bucs history.

The scrambling aspect of Mayfield’s game has disappeared in recent weeks, which means this is yet another week in which he will try to reach his second-most rushing yards in any season of his career. He needs 8 yards to get there, and at that point, he would trail only 2024 (378 yards) for his career-high.

Rachaad White

White needs one more touchdown to pass Errict Rhett (25) for the fifth-most touchdowns from scrimmage by a running back in team history.

With two more receiving touchdowns, White will tie Mike Alstott (13) for the most by a running back/fullback in Bucs history.

Emeka Egbuka

Egbuka is now only one receiving touchdown away from passing O.J. Howard (6 in 2017) for the fifth-most by a rookie in team history. That would also tie him with Michael Clayton (7 in 2004) for the fourth-most.

With two receiving touchdowns, Egbuka can tie Mike Evans (8 in 2014) for the most by a Bucs rookie in their first 10 career games.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Two more receiving touchdowns would also tie Egbuka with Jalen McMillan (8 in 2024) for the third-most by a rookie in team history.

Egbuka needs 142 more yards to pass Lawrence Dawsey (818 in 1991) for the fourth-most by a rookie in team history.

Egbuka is at 677 yards this season, too, so he is only 323 away from becoming the third player in franchise history to reach 1,000 receiving yards as a rookie, joining Michael Clayton (1,193 in 2004) and Mike Evans (1,051 in 2014).

Cade Otton

Otton needs only seven receiving yards to pass Dave Moore (1,805) for the fifth-most by a tight end in team history.

The fourth-year tight end also needs only two receptions to pass Dave Moore (184) for the fifth-most by a tight end in Buccaneer history.

Otton’s next receiving touchdown will also move him ahead of Ron Hall (10) for the ninth-most by a tight end in team history and tie Calvin Magee and Alex Smith (11) for the seventh-most.

Vita Vea

Vea is still a half-sack away from passing Jason Pierre-Paul and Brad Culpepper (33.0) for sole possession of the ninth-most in franchise history. With 1.5 more sacks, he’ll tie Chidi Ahanotu (34.5) for the eighth-most.

Bucs NT Vita Vea – Photo by: USA Today

Sunday will be Vea’s 105th game as a Buc, tying Jeff Gooch and Ricky Reynolds for the 37th-most in team history.

Anthony Nelson

Nelson is set for his 102nd game with Tampa Bay, which will move him ahead of Ian Beckles, Jeremy Trueblood and Ali Marpet for the 41st-most in franchise history.

Lavonte David

Much of the same still applies for David, who is a few big plays away from joining some elite company in a variety of categories. With two more tackles for loss, he’ll pass Aaron Donald (176) for the third-most since TruMedia Data is available, dating back to 2008.

David is also only one takeaway from reaching 35 for his career, which would have him in a group with only Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher as the only players with 40+ sacks and 35+ takeaways since at least 1982.

One more interception would also join David with Ray Lewis, Charles Woodson and Brian Dawkins as the only players since 1994 with 15+ interceptions, 15+ forced fumbles and 15+ fumble recoveries. He would also be just the 17th player in NFL history to reach those marks, joining those three players, Mike Merriweather, Steve Nelson, Carnell Lake, Reggie Williams, Joey Browner, Rod Woodson, Wes Hopkins, Bill Romanowski, Cris Dishman, Dennis Smith, Ronnie Lott, Wilber Marshall and Nesby Glasgow.

Bucs LB Lavonte David and Bills TE Dawson Knox – Photo by: USA Today

David is still five sacks away from passing former teammate Shaq Barrett (45.0) for the fifth-most in Bucs history.

David also needs two more passes defensed to pass another former teammate, Carlton Davis III (73) for the fourth-most in team history.

Sunday will mark David’s 208th game with the Bucs, leaving him 16 behind Derrick Brooks (224) for the second-most in team history. It will also be his 208th start, which leaves him 13 behind Brooks (221) for the second-most of any Buc ever.

Jamel Dean

Dean is seven passes defensed away from passing Donnie Abraham (64) for the sixth-most in franchise history.

Dean is also one interception away from tying Dwight Smith, Jeris White and Mark Robinson (12) for the 13th-most in team history. He is three away from tying Lavonte David (14) for the 12th-most.

Zyon McCollum

McCollum is now four passes defensed away from passing Dwight Smith (34) and Antoine Winfield Jr. (34 and still counting, obviously) for the 12th-most in franchise history.

Antoine Winfield Jr.

Speaking of Winfield, he still has a lot of the same milestones in front of him as well. He needs one sack to break a tie with Adam Archuleta, Bill Bates and Roman Harper for the 11th-most by a defensive back since 1982.

Winfield also needs two more strip sacks to tie Quintin Mikell for the most by a defensive back since at least 2000.

With one more forced fumble, Winfield can tie Jairus Byrd, Cedric Griffin, Chris Harris, Sammy Knight, Michael Lewis, Troy Polamalu and his father, Antoine Winfield Sr. (13) for the 16th-most by a defensive back since at least 2000.

Bucs FS Antoine Winfield, Jr. – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Winfield’s next forced fumble will also tie him with Hardy Nickerson (13) for the seventh-most in Bucs history.

With one more fumble recovery, Winfield will pass Lee Roy Selmon (10) for the fourth-most in team history and tie Cecil Johnson and John Cannon (11) for the third-most.

Winfield now needs one pass defensed to take sole possession of the 12th-most in franchise history, breaking a tie with Dwight Smith (34). He is only four passes defensed away from passing Simeon Rice (37) for the 11th-most.

It would be good to see No. 31 get to the quarterback again some time soon, partly because it would allow him to cut into the 10.5 sacks he needs to pass Ronde Barber (28.0) for the most by a Bucs defensive back and the second-most by a defensive back in NFL history.

Chase McLaughlin

McLaughlin is now only eight field goals away from passing Ryan Succop (84) for the sixth-most in Buccaneer history.