The Tampa Bay Buccaneers capped an emotional week in New Orleans with an explosive 51-27 over the Saints in Week Six and now will get an extra day to regroup before taking on the Baltimore Ravens at home in Week Seven. When they do return to the field, it will be before a national audience, as the Buccaneers and Ravens are set to meet on Monday Night Football on October 21 at Raymond James Stadium.
Both teams are 4-2 after the Ravens won a showdown with their up-and-coming neighbors, the Washington Commanders. Coincidentally, the Buccaneers (in Week One) and the Ravens are the only teams to conquer Washington and their superstar rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels; the Commanders won all four of their games in convincing fashion in between those two losses.
The Buccaneers will seek to maintain the momentum they built with a dominant second half in the Superdome, outscoring the Saints, 27-0, after halftime while rolling up a franchise-record 594 yards of total offense. That included 277 rushing yards on 35 carries, one week after the team ran for 160 yards in Atlanta. That sort of ground game prowess may be critical against Baltimore, which through six games has a seemingly-impossible rushing-yardage advantage over their opponents of 1,232 to 354.
The Ravens have dominated on the ground because the offseason concept of signing former Titans running back Derrick Henry to pair with quarterback Lamar Jackson in the backfield has played out exactly as anticipated. Henry has already racked up 704 yards rushing yards and nine total touchdowns through six games, including another 132 yards and two scores against Washington. Meanwhile, Jackson, the NFL's reigning MVP, has run for another 403 yards and two touchdowns while also compiling a 10-2 TD-INT ratio in the passing game, with a passer rating of 108.3.
The Buccaneers will exit Week Six with at least a share of first place in the NFC South, depending upon the final result of the Atlanta Falcons' game at Carolina on Sunday. They will try to win at least five of their first seven games in a season since a 6-1 start to 2021. It will not be an easy task against a Ravens team that has won four in a row since a surprising 0-2 start.
View the top photos of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' regular season Week 6 game vs. the New Orleans Saints