We're almost through the hardest stretch of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' schedule this year, but before the storm breaks a tough matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs awaits. Not only that, it'll happen under the bright lights of primetime as the Bucs prepare to play their second Monday Night Football game in three weeks.
Last time around things couldn't have gone worse. Tampa Bay didn't win but lost so much more than the game with injuries to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. The former is out for the season with a dislocated ankle, while the latter is expected to be back after the team's bye week.
It goes without saying that not having their two best players on offense healthy against the Chiefs defense doesn't make things any easier.
Even with the deck stacked against the Bucs, they represent a trap game for the league's last remaining undefeated team. Kansas City going undefeated is highly unlikely and they're going to lose a game at some point -- why not against the Bucs?
Nothing would soothe the wounds of these last two weeks more than getting an upset win on the road in Arrowhead, as the vibes would instantly turn around. If the Bucs want to pull the upset off, they'll have to do it without a handful of players who were ruled inactive before kickoff.
Full inactives list for Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9 vs. Chiefs
As if not having Evans and Godwin was bad enough, the Bucs will be without rookie wide receiver Jalen McMillan against the Chiefs.
Player | Position | Injury |
|---|---|---|
Mike Evans | WR | Hamstring |
Jalen McMillan | WR | Hamstring |
Greg Gaines | DL | Calf |
Antonio Grier | LB | Healthy Scratch |
Jose Ramirez | LB | Healthy Scratch |
Devin Culp | TE | Healthy Scratch |
Royce Newman | OL | Healthy Scratch |
There was some fear that the list of key players missing on Monday would include Antoine Winfield Jr. and Lavonte David, but that no longer seems to be a concern. Neither player is 100 percent, but it would have taken a lot for either to miss such an important game.
Last week was the first time we saw Baker Mayfield and Liam Coen roll out an offense sans Evans and Godwin, and things looked better than expected. It was the defense that largely let the team down, as the Bucs' offense scored 26 points and made a signature late surge to nearly steal the game away.
Kansas City's defense will be the best Tampa Bay has faced all season, so getting behind won't be so easy to make up for. Still, the team is as healthy as it can be given all that has happened, and an upset of a Chiefs team that has Patrick Mahomes playing subpar football isn't out of the question.
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