Arizona Cardinals (3-8) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5)
Sunday, November 30, 1:00 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reeling at the worst possible time. The Cardiac Bucs are on life support. Baker Mayfield was in a sling after getting beat up on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, and he's getting further testing done to determine his status going forward.
For the time being, however, the Bucs aren't ruling him out, so the matchup they have on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals is not (yet) a matchup between a pair of backup quarterbacks. And that's really the last thing the Bucs need right now, because Jacoby Brissett has actually not played too bad for the Cardinals since taking Kyler Murray's job.
The Bucs are getting Bucky Irving back, so the issue with injured playmakers offensively for Tampa Bay has slowly started to resolve itself. It's not too late for this team to get back on track, but there's obviously some added pressure being applied right now by the Carolina Panthers.
And we'll see about the Falcons continually making noise, because they're not out of it, either.
The Cardinals are not going to be doing anything in their division this year, but they can play spoiler for the duration of this season. At this point in the year, folks seem to be auditioning for jobs, including Jonathan Gannon. I am not typically one to throw the baby out with the bathwater in situations like this, but even with all the injuries they've had to deal with this year, I can't help but think that this is a job that's going to open up after the season.
The Cardinals are going to need a new quarterback in the near future, but that's for another time. This game against the Bucs is one in which Arizona is a 2.5-point underdog, so clearly the oddsmakers are waiting for more clarity on Baker Mayfield's situation. If Mayfield plays, the Bucs should win, right?
Prediction: Buccaneers win 22-17