Buccaneers 2017 season preview: Game predictions
By Zain Ahmed
Week 3: at Minnesota Vikings, 1:00 PM
The Bucs will travel to Minnesota for the first time since the Vikings unveiled their new stadium. Minnesota beat the Bucs 19-14 in the previous matchup between the two in 2014. The Vikings are coming off a disappointing season, as it appeared they were destined for the playoffs with a 5-0 start, but they went 3-8 after that to finish the season at 8-8. Throughout the first five weeks, the Vikings defense smothered teams and their offense was playing just good enough to win. One loss to the Eagles caused everything to go downhill for the Vikings because it exposed their offensive weaknesses.
The Vikings will rely on their defense in the matchup against the Buccaneers. Minnesota’s offense does not stack up to Tampa’s offense, so Bradford will look to just manage the game. With two tough defenses, this game will be a closely contested defensive showdown. I believe the Bucs will come out on top because their offense should be better than Minnesota’s. However, it will come down to the wire and the Bucs will fight off a late attempt by Bradford to seal the game.
Things are starting to heat up in Tampa Bay.