The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their second straight game after the bye in Week 13, outlasting the Carolina Panthers, 26-23, in overtime last Sunday. In the process, they improved to 6-6 and moved into a first place tie in the NFC South with the Atlanta Falcons, who lost that same day to the Los Angeles Chargers. It's a five-week sprint to the finish for the division title, though Atlanta has the inside track due to its head-to-head sweep over Tampa Bay earlier in the season.

For the Buccaneers, the first leg of that race is Sunday against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Raiders are mired in an eight-game losing streak but they nearly upended the 10-1 Kansas City Chiefs last Friday before a botched snap doomed them to a 19-17 loss.

The Raiders have made several quarterback changes this season for both performance and injury-related reasons, with Aidan O'Connell starting the game in Kansas City and throwing for 340 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Whoever has been throwing passes for Las Vegas has looked for rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who leads all NFL players with 84 receptions. The Raiders' defense has allowed the fifth-most points in the league this season but features one of the NFL's most relentless pass rushers in Maxx Crosby, who has 7.5 sacks and 19 quarterback hits.

The Bucs will look for their first win against an AFC opponent in its fourth try so far this season. Here are four major storylines and four head-to-head player battles to keep an eye on as the Bucs and Raiders square off on Tampa Bay's home turf.

TOP STORYLINES

Home Stand – Thanksgiving was last week and maybe you had the family over to your house for dinner. If so, hopefully you pleased the whole crowd with your cooking. That's what the Buccaneers want and need to do on Sunday against the Raiders when they return to Raymond James Stadium for the first time since Week 10. That one was a three-point loss to the 49ers, which dropped the Bucs' home record this season to an unsightly 2-4. The Buccaneers, who are an impressive 4-2 in road games this season, join the Cowboys as the only teams in the NFL with at least four road wins and two or fewer home wins. Three of Tampa Bay's final five games are at home, and given how tight the NFC South and Wild Card races are, every one of them is going to be critical. Tampa Bay has never reached the playoffs in a season in which it had a losing record on the road. It's final two road games of the regular season are at the Los Angeles Chargers, who are 4-2 at home this season and 8-4 overall, and the Cowboys. Dallas has actually been worse than the Buccaneers at home this season, including several disastrous losses, but they won their last game at AT&T Stadium and surely won't be an easy out in Week 16. The Buccaneers almost certainly need to whip up some better home cooking down the stretch to earn their fifth straight playoff berth, and it starts on Sunday with a visit from the Raiders.

The Rise of Bucky – Over the first 11 games of the season, no Buccaneers running back had carried the ball more than 15 times in a game. Tampa Bay's ground game was the best the team has had in nearly a decade, but the workload was being split between starter Rachaad White and rookie Bucky Irving, with an occasional sprinkling of Sean Tucker. The first time Irving even played more snaps than White in a game in which they both played (White was out for the Week Six contest at New Orleans) was in Week 11. Then, last Sunday in Charlotte, Irving was handed the ball 25 times and had it thrown to him three times. The result was a season-best 185 yards from scrimmage in an overtime win over the Panthers, and that was with him getting just one carry in the extra period as he was feeling the effects of a hip pointer. On Monday, Head Coach Todd Bowles noted that Irving had a trait that not a lot of running backs possess: the ability to make the first defender miss on a consistent basis. Irving probably won't get 25 carries in too many of the Bucs' remaining games, but it seems clear that his share of the workload is increasing as he continues to produce outstanding results week after week. Irving has also proven to be a natural pass-catcher and Bowles said that the rookie's growing comfort in the offense has allowed the team to give him more and more things to do. Will that trend continue down the homestretch? Irving has already surpassed 1,000 yards from scrimmage and he needs 268 yards on the ground to become just the fifth rookie in franchise history to rush for 1,000 yards.

Locking Down Brock – Rookie tight end Brock Bowers is clearly the Raiders' top offensive weapon. Las Vegas ranks last in the week in rushing and has had to cycle through a number of backs recently due to injuries to Alexander Mattison and Zamir White. Their top receiver at the start of the season, Davante Adams, was traded to the New York Jets on October 15. Meanwhile, Bowers has produced week after week, most recently racking up 10 catches for 140 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City in Week 13. He has had eight or more catches in six games and currently leads all NFL players, not just tight ends, with 84 grabs. He gets up to top speed in the blink of an eye, makes cuts on his routes like a 180-pound receiver and naturally snatches the football away from his body. Tampa Bay's defense has struggled at times this season to contain talented tight ends – Atlanta's Kyle Pitts, for instance, rolled up 11 catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns in two games against Tampa Bay – and that could prove to be a problem if it happens again versus the Raiders. The Bucs are also dealing with multiple injures at the safety and linebacker spots, which will likely lead to some personnel changes and possibly some new approaches to covering tight ends.

Offensive Rhythm – With the return of Mike Evans in Week 12, the Buccaneers looked as if they had hit their stride again on offense, with Baker Mayfield spreading the ball around to 11 different players and four different Bucs scoring a rushing touchdown. The Bucs moved the ball at will against the New York Giants, gaining 451 yards of offense in a 30-7 blowout. The following Sunday, that same offense eventually got to 445 yards over nearly five quarters of work, but it took quite some time to hit its stride. Against the Panthers, the Bucs had just 146 yards at halftime and only four different players had caught a pass as Baker Mayfield went seven-for-16. The third quarter wasn't much better but the Bucs got on track in the fourth period and in overtime, leading on Evans (8-118-1) and Irving for most of their production. The Raiders have given up the fifth most points in the league so far but rank 15th in yards allowed, at 327.7 per game. They are 11th against the run and 14th against the pass and they will have a game full of tape to study how the Panthers knocked the Bucs off their axis for a good portion of the contest. Given their results through the first 12 games and the reality of injury depletion, the Buccaneers will be hard-pressed to field a top-10 defense over the next five weeks. That means they may need Mayfield and the offense to lead the way. Were the results in New York the true blueprint for how that offense will operate down the stretch, or will it still be a work in progress?

KEY MATCHUPS

1. Raiders C Jackson Powers-Johnson vs. Buccaneers DL Vita Vea

The majority of the Bucs' pass rush this season has come up the middle. Interior linemen Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey are tied for the team's sack lead with 6.0 each. Vea primarily mans the nose tackle spot and often finds himself lined up against the opposing center, which is quite a challenge for any snapper on the other side of the line. The 350-pound defender has incredible strength and easily translates speed to power, using his massive frame to drive offensive linemen back into the lap of their quarterback. This week he'll be taking on a rookie, the highly-coveted Jackson Powers-Johnson from Oregon, who the Raiders nabbed with the 12th pick of the second round in this year's draft. Powers-Johnson was the second center selected after the Bucs took Duke's Graham Barton in the first round. At 6-3 and 328 pounds, he has good size to match up with Vea and sets a firm base in pass protection. According to Pro Football Focus, he has been responsible for just two sacks allowed so far in his rookie season. He moves well laterally to close up gaps and uses his arms well to maintain leverage.

2. Buccaneers WR Mike Evans vs. Raiders WR Decamerion Richardson

This is another opportunity for a proven Bucs veteran to take on a rookie starter. The Raiders got Mississippi State's Decamerion Richardson in the fourth round in April after he shined at the NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-2, 195-pound cornerback ran a 4.34-second 40-yard dash and had the highest overall athleticism score (88) of any player at his position. Richardson's playing time has increased as the season has progressed due to a rash of injuries to the Raiders' cornerback room and he has played with confidence and ability to move on quickly from a bad play. He has recorded 19 tackles and two passes defensed in seven games with two starts. Richardson has primarily taken snaps on the right side of the Raiders' defense and Evans' most common starting spot is split out wide to the left of the Bucs' offense, so those two should see a lot of each other on Sunday. Evans has made a huge impact since his return from a lengthy absence due to a hamstring injury, catching 13 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown during the Bucs' two-game winning streak. He remains one of the NFL's best at getting up high and snatching the ball over defenders, as he did on a remarkable catch of an end zone fade pass last Sunday against the Panthers. Evans has deceptive, long-striding speed and can run every route, so he'll be a big early-career challenge for the Raiders' rookie defensive back.

3. Raiders RB Sincere McCormick (or Ameer Abdullah) vs. Buccaneers LB Lavonte David

The Raiders' top two backs, Alexander Mattison and Zamir White have each missed the last two games due to quad and ankle injuries, respectively, and will likely be question marks again this week. Without them the Raiders have turned to Ameer Abdullah, a 10th-year veteran who had a total of 19 carries over the previous two seasons, and rookie Sincere McCormick, an undrafted free agent in 2023 out of UTSA who has spent the entire season on the Las Vegas practice squad. He has used up his three allotted practice squad elevations so he would have to be added to the active roster to play against the Buccaneers, but that certainly seems like a reasonable consideration for the Raiders after he rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries and caught two passes against Kansas City, getting two more handoffs than Abdullah. The Raiders rank last in the NFL in rushing yards, with just 78.1 per game, but they haven't abandoned the ground game and may have found something in the McCormick/Abdullah duo as they picked up 116 rushing yards and 4.6 per carry against the Chiefs last week. The Bucs' primary weapon against that rushing attack will be Lavonte David, who leads the team with 85 tackles and remains adapt at diagnosing where a back is heading quickly and taking the best possible angle to get there. The Buccaneers may need even more than usual out of David after seeing fellow starter K.J. Britt, best known as a downhill run-stopper leave last Sunday's game with an ankle injury.

4. Buccaneers T Tristan Wirfs vs. Raiders DE Maxx Crosby

Pro Bowl left tackle Tristan Wirfs returned to action last Sunday after missing one game (plus the bye week) with a knee injury. His status was in doubt right up until the afternoon of the game in Charlotte, but an extensive pregame workout with the training staff convinced the team to let him take the field and the results were impressive. Wirfs played all 80 offensive snaps and was able to maintain his usual high standard of play and he still has not allowed a sack this season. He is a surprisingly agile and athletic player for his size and his ability to mirror the moves of opposing pass rushers makes him an extremely effective back side protector for Baker Mayfield. He'll need all of his skills when he takes on Maxx Crosby on Sunday, as Crosby is not only the Raiders' best defender but also one of the most menacing edge rushers in the entire league. After racking up 27 sacks over the previous two seasons, the three-time Pro Bowler has a team-high 7.5 this season, plus 19 quarterback hits. He has the second most pressures in the NFL in 2019 and he also almost never comes off the field, a rare occurrence at his position. Crosby played every defensive snap last week against Kansas City, the sixth straight game he has done that. His 387 consecutive snaps played is the longest by an NFL defensive linemen since Next Gen Stats started tracking in 2016. Crosby's pre-snap splits lean a bit towards the other end of the line, where he'll encounter Luke Goedeke, but when he does travel to Wirfs' side it will create a matchup of perhaps the best two players on the field.

Another Key Storyline this week is our Moffitt Stories of Courage special guest, Rick Salomone. In early 2023, Rick was blindsided by a prostate cancer diagnosis. He had never noticed the subtle symptoms—only some leg and back pain he chalked up to his competitive tennis schedule. A devoted family man with a long career in senior management, Rick's life was built on faith, family, and friends. As he traveled 120 miles roundtrip for 26 radiation treatments at Moffitt, he leaned into those pillars for strength. Through his faith, he found courage under pressure, much like before a big game or presentation. With the support of Moffitt Cancer Center and his loved ones, Rick embraced the challenge, finishing his treatment with renewed belief and a deepened sense of gratitude for the quality time left. Today, he continues to share his story, inspiring others facing prostate cancer with the hope that got him through: God's guidance and the unwavering support of those who care can give anyone the permission to BELIEVE! The Buccaneers are honored to host Rick at a Bucs game this year.