Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) @ Detroit Lions (4-2)
Monday, October 20th, 7:00 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could really put their stamp on the NFC with another statement win this year. The defense has been shaky at best, but QB Baker Mayfield is playing out of his mind and is currently the favorite to win the MVP award in my eyes.
Mayfield has totally remade himself with the Bucs, and he’s had to deal with a ton of wide receiver injuries, so that could hamper things for Tampa in this one, but I am buying the Bucs again and again and will ride with them until they prove me otherwise.
On the other side of things, the Detroit Lions are coming off a pretty ugly loss against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football, so they surely want to get back on the right track. The Lions and Bucs are honestly similar - top-end offenses with defenses that leave a little to be desired, so I can see this turning into a shootout.
And while I am fully prepared to be wrong, I am going to ride with the Bucs here to win by three points and get to 6-1 on the season. With how many injuries Tampa is dealing with on offense, though, the Lions winning this one would not shock me.
Detroit tends to respond well after a loss, and they simply have not lost a lot in the Dan Campbell era in recent years. I am probably making the wrong choice here, but give me the Buccaneers by three points. They earn a huge tiebreaker win over the Lions.
If both teams win their respective divisions and finish with the same record, the winner of this game would have the head-to-head tiebreaker and would earn the higher seed in the NFC playoffs.