A new Pewter Report Roundtable debuts every Tuesday on PewterReport.com. Each week, the Pewter Reporters tackle another tough question. This week’s prompt: What is the Bucs’ trap game down the stretch – outside of the game against the 7-3 Chargers in Los Angeles ?

Scott Reynolds: Saints Could Go Marching Into Ray-Jay Strong In Week 18

Saints DE Carl Granderon and Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

I feel like the Bucs’ game in Dallas against the Cowboys in Week 16 might be a trap game because it’s on Sunday Night Football and Tampa Bay is 0-3 in primetime games this year. But that game will likely get flexed out in favor of a better matchup like the Broncos (6-5) at the Chargers (7-3), the Eagles (8-2) at the Commanders (7-4) vs. or the Vikings (8-2) at the Seahawks (5-5). The Cowboys will be out of playoff contention by then and who knows what the Bucs’ record will be by then? The game that has my attention is Week 18 against New Orleans because the Saints always seem to play well in Tampa Bay.

Since the inception of the NFC South in 2002, the Saints are 12-11 versus the Bucs in New Orleans during the regular season, but have a 15-7 record over Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium. In fact, the Saints are 5-1 at Tampa Bay over the last six games dating back to the 2018 season. Even the Bucs’ lone win over the Saints during that span, which came in 2022, was a 17-16 come-from-behind affair. And in last year’s game in Week 17, the Saints opened up a 23-0 lead before the Bucs came back to score 13 points in garbage time. Tampa Bay could’ve wrapped up the NFC South title with a win but had to wait until the season finale at Carolina to clinch the division instead.

The Saints are now 4-7 thanks to back-to-back wins over the Falcons and the Browns under interim head coach Darren Rizzi and are still alive for a potential playoff spot – although it may take a 6-0 run after their bye this week for that to occur. So my feeling is that the Saints might need a Week 18 win in Tampa Bay as much as the Bucs do. And if New Orleans is already eliminated by the season finale, I could see the Saints wanting to play the role of spoilers for their NFC South rival and to get some revenge for the Bucs’ 51-27 win at the Superdome back in Week 6. If the Bucs lose this one and fail to make the playoffs it could cost Todd Bowles his job.

Matt Matera: Bucs’ Trap Game Is This Week vs. Giants

Can you have a trap game when you’re 4-6 and have lost four games in a row? In this case the Bucs can when they’re going up against a 2-8 Giants football team. But why is this game a potential upset? Because the Giants have a spark going into Sunday. The big move for New York was benching quarterback Daniel Jones for fan favorite and local star, Tommy DeVito. We’ve seen two instances already in the NFC South where major changes led to wins. The Panthers won their first game with Andy Dalton at quarterback after benching Bryce Young (though Young has won back-to-back games against the Saints and Giants) and the Saints have gone 2-0 since firing Dennis Allen and making Darren Rizzi the interim head coach.

Giants QB Tommy DeVito – Photo by: USA Today

Had Jones still been the quarterback for the Giants, MetLife Stadium would be a ghost town, making it an advantage for the Bucs. However, many Giants fans were over Jones and will welcome the sight of DeVito. Fans will have a pep in their step and the players should have motivation with the move. And on top of it all, the Bucs defense has made quarterbacks look like stars this season. DeVito went 3-3 for the Giants last year. In his first start this season, if he leans on Malik Nabers and scrambles when there’s an opportunity, DeVito can keep New York in the game.

While each team hasn’t been great in late-game situations, the Giants have kept their last three games very close like the Bucs have. They have a good defensive line that will challenge Baker Mayfield. Make no mistake about it, this is a must-win game for Tampa Bay. If they don’t, their playoff hopes are done. The defense has to show they can get stops. The last thing they needed was to give them a sense of something to play for.

Bailey Adams: Bucs Better Not Overlook An Old Friend In Week 17

Panthers head coach Dave Canales – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs play the 3-7 Panthers twice over the final seven weeks of the season, and on paper, those look like two easy wins. But Carolina proved to be a tough out late last year. Despite finishing 2-15 on the season, the Panthers only lost to the Bucs 21-18 in Tampa and 9-0 in Charlotte. While I like Tampa Bay’s chances to come out of the bye week strong and beat the Giants and take down the Panthers in the first meeting between the two teams in Week 13, it’s the Week 17 rematch at Raymond James Stadium that has my attention as a potential trap game.

This 3-7 Panthers team is different from other teams with similar records at this stage in the season. Carolina may be way behind in terms of talent, but the team is fighting, and it’s fighting for first-year head coach Dave Canales – Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator from a year ago. I think Todd Bowles and the Bucs will get the better of their old friend in that first meeting, but they better be ready for Canales to be looking for some revenge in his return to Ray-Jay as a visitor.

For me, this being a potential trap game is part Canales revenge game, part the Bucs potentially overlooking a downtrodden Panthers team that they would have just beaten at the beginning of December and part the spot in the schedule itself. We saw Tampa Bay fail to beat New Orleans (albeit a better New Orleans team) on the final week of the 2023 calendar year, setting up a do-or-die Week 18 game in Charlotte that the team had to win in order to clinch the NFC South. I like the Bucs’ chances to get back into the playoff race in the coming weeks, but Week 17 feels like a spot in the schedule where the team could trip up. And if it does, it’ll prove costly. Bowles and Co. can’t afford to lose the games they should be winning over these final seven weeks, and this is a game they absolutely should be winning.

Josh Queipo: The Raiders Could Win The Pirate Battle In Week 14

Raiders TE Brock Bowers – Photo by: USA Today

Some might forget but the Raiders beat the Ravens earlier this season. And there are semblances of a formula to hurt the Bucs on that team. Rookie tight end Brock Bowers can create havoc over the middle of the field. The Bucs struggle to contain the middle of the field. I have no clue who might be playing quarterback three weeks for Las Vegas from now, but if it is veteran Gardner Minshew, remember that he led the Colts to a victory over Tampa Bay just last year.

Backup tackle Justin Skule struggled with a power rusher with a high motor in week three against Detroit. If he is still playing in place of injured left tackle Tristan Wirfs then the Raiders could match up Maxx Crosby over him for a significant advantage. Las Vegas is just unfamiliar enough that they could flummox the Bucs with an unusual gameplan executed by players the Bucs just don’t have many tendencies to figure out.

This game could also come at a time where Tampa Bay has two straight wins under its belt propping the team up to .500 on the season. So far this year Tampa Bay has not proven they can win three in a row. The Raiders could keep that dubious streak alive in a trap game between to marauding franchises in Week 14.

Adam Slivon: The Panthers Could Catch The Bucs Off Guard In Week 13

Bucs OLB Yaya Diaby and Panthers RB Chuba Hubbard – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

After starting the season 1-7 and benching second-year quarterback Bryce Young, the Panthers have won the past two games over the Saints and Giants with Young back under center. The two teams they defeated are not exactly contenders, but there are signs of life in Carolina under rookie head coach Dave Canales. They have had a lethal run game led by the newly-extended Chuba Hubbard, while the defense has started to come around and gave Derek Carr and Daniel Jones fits. After the Bucs take their turn playing the Giants after they decided to bench Jones, they could be caught off guard by the momentum Canales’ squad has started to build.

Divisional games are never easy, and although the Bucs swept the Panthers last year, they were not convincing wins. They squeaked out a 21-18 win in Week 13, while they pulled off an ugly 9-0 win in Week 18. The year before with Tom Brady under center, they lost 21-3 in Week 7 at Carolina before beating the Panthers, 30-24, in Week 17. Each game – outside of Carolina blowing them out – has been close, and that is likely to continue this season.

Todd Bowles and Dave Canales know each other well, and it will be a chess match when it comes to game planning. That could work in Canales’ favor facing him for the first time, especially as his offense has started to put points on the board. This is the kind of game where the Bucs may head to Carolina overlooking their opponent as a blip on the schedule down the stretch. The way the Panthers are playing, combined with an up-and-down history against them, makes this a trap game. This is primed to be a close game that Tampa Bay cannot afford to lose.