Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
US Football League NFL plays in Munich
Photo by Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

The Bucs and Seahawks take center stage in the first NFL regular season game played in Germany

The NFL’s first regular season game to ever be played in Germany has arrived. The Bucs are coming off a much needed win against the Los Angeles Rams and now have an opportunity to claw their way back to .500 before they head into the bye week.

Standing in their way is one of the surprise teams of the 2022 season – the Seattle Seahawks. After trading away Russell Wilson, most people expected the Seahawks to be in a rebuilding phase. Instead, their running game and the revitalization of Geno Smith have them sitting atop the NFC West with a 6-3 record and winners of four straight.

Smith has shocked a lot of people, with 2,199 pass yards to go with 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions, his reliability to not turn the ball over has complimented a solid rushing attack led now by Kenneth Walker III. The Seahawks are tenth in the NFL, averaging 133.8 rush yards per game while Walker III has gone for over 100 yards in two of the last three games and has a total of 424 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns during the Seahawks win streak.

The Bucs are still searching for an answer in the run game and Rachaad White has shown he can get the job done – at least, on first downs. Against the Rams last week, White averaged 5.2 yards per carry when rushing the ball on first down and finished the game as the team’s leading rusher. However, the Bucs are still dead last in the NFL with 60.7 rush yards per game.

While the Bucs are still fifth in the NFL in passing with 271.1 yards per game, but because of the abysmal rushing attack, they’re barely in the top-20 of total offense with just 331.8 total yards per game and they’re just 25th in the league with 18.0 points per game.

Defensively, they are doing far better compared with the rest of the NFL, coming in ninth in total defense (313.0 yards per game), fifth in passing defense (187.8 yards per game), 23rd in rush defense (125.2 yards per game), and fifth in scoring (18.2 points per game).

Tom Brady is no stranger to the Seattle Seahawks and while he has a very notable Super Bowl victory over them, he hasn’t had a ton of success against them historically. Brady is 1-2 against them in his career with 942 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. His last game against them was back in 2016 when the Patriots traveled to Seattle and came away with a 31-24 loss.

Mike Evan, who is looking to bounce back from a rough game against the Rams where he suffered a rib injury in the first drive, has played well against the Seahawks in the two matchups where he faced off with them. 20 receptions on 27 targets, with 284 yards and three touchdowns.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Tampa Bay Bucs are 2.5-point favorites against the Seahawks with an over/under of 44.5. The Bucs have seen their last six games against NFC opponents hit the under.

The Bucs and Seahawks kickoff at 9:30 a.m. ET in Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The game will be broadcast on NFL Network with Rich Eisen, Michael Irvin, Kurt Warner, and Steve Mariucci will be on the call for the game.

For more on this and all things Tampa Bay Bucs, check out James Yarcho and David Harrison on the Locked On Bucs Podcast!

By admin