The most important game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020

A single game does not decide the worth of a season, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to make sure that they win the important ones.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a crucial 2020 season coming up. The Bucs have gone all-in on free agency and the draft and have constructed a team primed for a playoff spot.

With sights set on making a deep run in the playoffs, the Buccaneers have to make sure that they win their most important games.

Obviously, there are challenging games against great opponents throughout the schedule. The games against the Saints and the Chiefs will all be uphill battles for the Bucs, and keeping these games close or even winning them will go a long way.

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On the other hand, the Bucs also have several games against opponents that don’t really have a set identity yet. These games are against teams without a franchise quarterback or a defined course of action for the year. A rebuild is the main focus of some of these opponents.

The most important games for the Buccaneers fall somewhere in the middle. Few teams beat all of their best competition, and every team with playoff aspirations should beat the bad teams, but what separates these two groups is how they do against the middle of the pack opponents. These are the games that will really define the season for the Bucs.

The most important game on the schedule for Tampa Bay is the Week 14 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings are a playoff-caliber team, but they are far from a powerhouse. Minnesota is the exact type of team that the Bucs will have to beat if they want to achieve their lofty goals.

Minnesota has an above-average quarterback, a rising running game, and a great defense. This matchup will be a great litmus test for the Buccaneers on both sides of the ball for this reason.

Winning this game is critical for the outlook on the season. The Vikings aren’t the best team that Tampa Bay will face, but their status as an upper-middle talent team will show the Bucs exactly what they are in for in the playoffs.

If Tampa Bay can win this game as well as the games that they should win, a spot in the playoffs is an achievable goal, but a loss in this game could foreshadow difficulties in the post-season.