Buccaneers inactives for Week 8 confirms three key players are missing

Last week the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were graced with a miracle when star rookie Emeka Egbuka went from seemingly being out to playing in Monday night's game. This time around, Baker Mayfield and company aren't so lucky when it comes to players making miraculous recoveries in time for kickoff.

Tampa Bay will be without two key players on offense as well as taking a hit on the defensive side of the ball. Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin will be out again, but they're joined by pass rusher Haason Reddick who is dealing with an injury he suffered in the loss to the Lions.

Mike Evans breaking his clavicle was the headline injury from the game last week, which sort of made the injury to Reddick fly under the radar. It's a key loss, though, as Tampa Bay is now missing a massive piece of its defense and against a quarterback who loves to scramble.

Full inactive list for Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 vs. Saints

Don't get it twisted: the Saints are objectively awful, but they always play the Bucs close.

Last year, Spencer Rattle lit up Tampa Bay's offense for one half before coming crashing back to earth, and he's been pesky to deal with all season. The Bucs eventually wound up with a whopping 51-27 victory after being down at halftime the last time these two teams met in New Orleans, and the expectation is the offense will again have a field day.

Not only is there the rivalry factoring into things, but the Bucs need a show of force to correct course and remind everyone how dangerous the offense can be. It won't be a full deck they're playing with, but it shouldn't be a game that gives them too many problems -- unless they fail to get out of their own way.

Here's a look at who won't be suiting up for the Bucs today in New Orleans:

It should still be a game the Bucs win, but it's a matchup that isn't getting any easier with all of the key missing pieces on both sides of the ball for Todd Bowles.