Las Vegas (2-10) at Tampa Bay (6-6)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Buccaneers by 6 1/2.
Series record: Raiders lead 7-4
Against the spread: Raiders 5-7, Buccaneers 7-5
Last meeting: Buccaneers beat Raiders 45-20 in Las Vegas on Oct. 25, 2020.
Last week: Raiders lost to Chiefs 19-17 at Kansas City; Buccaneers beat Panthers 26-23 in OT at Carolina.
Raiders offense: overall (25), rush (32), pass (14), scoring (27)
Raiders defense: overall (15), rush (11), pass (14), scoring (28)
Buccaneers offense: overall (6), rush (8), pass (6), scoring (5)
Buccaneers defense: overall (28), rush (12), pass (30), scoring (25)
Turnover differential: Raiders, minus 17; Buccaneers, minus 1.
LB K’Lavon Chaisson had a 42.1% pressure rate against the Chiefs, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. That’s the highest rate for a player with at least 15 pass rushes. If he and the Raiders can get another strong rush against the Bucs, that should disrupt QB Baker Mayfield’s timing with his talented receivers.
Rookie RB Bucky Irving is coming off consecutive games with 150-plus yards from scrimmage, sparking an offense that sputtered without injured WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin during a four-game losing streak. Irving leads the team with 732 yards rushing, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He ran for 152 yards and a touchdown last week, finishing with a season-high 185 yards from scrimmage. Irving ranks first among rookies in scrimmage yards (1,017). Raiders TE Brock Bowers (895) is second.
Tampa Bay’s porous defense needs to play better down the stretch if the Bucs are going to win a fourth straight NFC South title. QB Aidan O’Connell threw for 340 yards and two TDs without an interception in the Raiders’ loss to Kansas City last week, however Las Vegas has the NFL’s least productive rushing attack at 78.1 yards per game, rank 27th in scoring at 18.6, and are last in turnover margin at minus-17. The Bucs rank 30th against the pass and only have five interceptions this season — none in the past six games.
Raiders: Concerns remain regarding RBs Alexander Mattison (ankle) and Zamir White (quadriceps) and CB Nate Hobbs (ankle).
Buccaneers: Mayfield (Achilles tendon/knee) and Irving (hip/back) are on the injury report but expect to be ready Sunday. … LB K.J. Britt (ankle) and safety Mike Edwards (hamstring) are hobbled after being injured last week against the Panthers.
The Raiders have won seven of 10 regular-season meetings, while the Bucs took the only postseason matchup with a dominating 48-21 victory in the Super Bowl 22 years ago. Raiders minority owner Tom Brady paced Tampa Bay’s 25-point rout in the most recent meeting in 2020.
Raiders TE Brock Bowers has two touchdown receptions in two of the past three games. … The Raiders allowed an average of 84 yards rushing over the past five games, the third-lowest rate in the league over that span. … DE Maxx Crosby has played every defensive snap the past six games. … WR Jakobi Meyers is 24 yards from becoming the 10th undrafted free agent with at least 700 yards receiving in five of his first six seasons. … Las Vegas’ 4.95 penalties per game since Antonio Pierce took over first as interim coach midway through last season is the third lowest over that stretch. … The Raiders have sacks in 30 consecutive games, the third-longest active streak. … Las Vegas has batted down 16 passes at the line of scrimmage, second this season only to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 19. … Bucs QB Baker Mayfield has thrown 24 TD passes in 14 home starts since joining the Bucs in 2023. … RB Bucky Irving is coming off the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career and is aiming for a third straight with 150-plus scrimmage yards. … WR Mike Evans had eight catches for 118 yards and a TD against Carolina last week. … DL Calijah Kancey has five sacks and six tackles for loss in his past four games. … The Bucs have rushed for 100-plus yards in nine of 12 games after doing it only nine times in 34 games over the past two seasons.
Evans’ return since missing three games with a hamstring injury has opened up Tampa Bay’s passing game again. Look for Mayfield to continue to lean heavily on the franchise's career receiving and scoring leader, who has seven TD receptions and needs 21 catches and 495 yards receiving in the final five games to finish with at least 60 catches and 1,000 yards for the 11th consecutive season.
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