Coming off arguably their worst loss of the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) will attempt to rebound this week as they host the Seattle Seahawks (6-8) at Raymond James Stadium. The 23-20 overtime loss to Detroit has hampered the Buccaneers playoff hopes but there is still possibility of a wild card berth for this Bucs team if they were to receive a lot of help from other NFC teams. The Seahawks on the other hand find themselves in first place in the NFC West despite being two games under .500 on the season, and will need a road win to secure a playoff spot.
The Seahawks are having a rough season under new head coach Pete Carroll but thanks to a monumentally weak division find themselves in the hunt for a Division title and hosting a playoff game. Veteran quarterback Matt Hasselback has not played to his normal standards, throwing only 12 touchdowns to 17 interceptions and the offense has been extremely erratic. The Buccaneers battered defense will have to find a way to stop Hasselback and running back Marshawn Lynch who was traded to Seattle from Buffalo at mid season, and racked up just shy of 500 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns in his time there.
With so many injuries on the defensive side of the ball the Buccaneers will have a tough task stopping anyone as they are very literally limping to the finish line of the season. This is the second straight game that the Buccaneers "should" win on paper, but as we saw last week with the Lions there are no givens in today's NFL and for a team that is starting seven rookies and has been pillaging practice squads weekly for secondary help, the Seahawks will hardly be a pushover.
Despite the game not being your typical big draw contest, the NFL flexed the game into the 4:15 time slot but Tampa Bay residents will still most likely not be able to enjoy their Bucs with their left over Christmas dinner as the game will be blacked out. Sunday will mark the final home game of the season for the Buccaneers, all of which have been blacked out on local television.
Even if the Buccaneers win on Sunday against Seattle, they would be eliminated from playoff contention if the Giants beat the Packers and the Saints win on Monday Night.