Buffalo Bills vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Week 14 final score prediction
By Aaron Tully
In Week 14, the Buffalo Bills will be looking to keep the train from falling off the tracks when they travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers in a game that if they lose, would likely see them slide out of the playoff picture.
Tampa could be well on their way to defending their Super Bowl crown; they sit at 9-3 and are able to clinch the NFC South with a win and losses by Carolina and New Orleans.
The Bucs have the league’s second-best run defense, allowing just 84.3 rushing yards per game. They’re not so good on the passing side of things, however, sitting allowing 248.4 yards per game (20th in the NFL).
On the offensive side of the ball, Tampa Bay is always dangerous, given their plethora of dangerous weapons. Tom Brady is as lethal as ever and is firmly in the MVP conversation at the moment. He has thrown for 3,771 yards and 34 touchdowns (both of which are the best in the league), as well as a 104.0 passer rating, which is fourth in the NFL. This should be no surprise, as Brady’s weapons of Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, and Rob Gronkowski are all having some of the better years in their careers.
As for the Buffalo Bills’ offense, they had a rough night in the windy conditions on Monday Night. Josh Allen threw for 145 yards on 30 attempts, a touchdown, and a 75.0 passer rating on a night where his poor number should be taken with a grain of salt.
Buffalo’s ground game outside of Josh Allen is non-existent. Devin Singletary is the team’s leading rusher at 495 yards, but Josh Allen is not far behind at 422. The Bills should strongly consider relying heavily on the pass for the remainder of the season, as something is clearly not working in the run game, and they need to play to their strengths, which happens to be their star quarterback and receiver.
The Buffalo defense gave up a whopping 222 rushing yards to New England. They did however allow just 14 points and kept the Bills in the game until the very end. The secondary will be tested for the first time without Tre’Davious White, which will be an interesting storyline to follow throughout the game.
This game should be more entertaining than last week’s affair, given that the weather looks good. Despite having arguably the NFL’s best secondary, the Bills may have to get into a shootout with Brady and the Bucs in order to win this game, which is uncharted territory for them to this point in the season.
Final Score Prediction: Buffalo Bills 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28
The Bills are in trouble; big trouble. They are in even bigger trouble if they do not win this week, they will be in even bigger trouble. Unfortunately for the Bills, they ran into the wrong team at the wrong time.
Tampa Bay is firing on all cylinders right now, and despite Brady throwing interceptions in his last five games, the Bucs have still won three in a row. The Buccaneers will pull out a close game and put the Bills in an even deeper hole than the one they currently sit in.