Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings Matchup Preview (12/13/20): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be hosting the Minnesota Vikings at home next week. The Buccaneers are coming off of a bye week after allowing Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill to have a historical day against them in their three-point loss. The Minnesota Vikings have flipped their first 6-week record from 1-5 to 5-1 and are the last wild card spot in the NFC at the moment. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Minnesota Vikings Matchup Page.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, December 13th, 2020
Time: 1:05 PM ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium – Tampa Bay, Florida
TV Coverage: FOX

Buccaneers vs. Vikings Live Stream

Where can you watch Buccaneers vs. Vikings online? You can stream this game and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Buccaneers vs. Vikings Free Online Now.

Injuries:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Questionable: Jamel Dean, Chris Godwin, IR: Vita Vea
Minnesota Vikings: Questionable: D.J. Wonnum, Irv Smith, Eric Kendricks, Jeff Gladney Out: Alexander Mattison

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Analysis

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off of a bye week after having lost two straight games to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams, both within three points. The Buccaneers could use a win to secure their position in the playoffs, as they are the second wild card seed in the playoffs at the moment. But, the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals are right behind them, only one win back on them.

Tom Brady had a heck of a game on the stat sheet with 345-3-2 two weeks ago against the Chiefs. But, his two interceptions late in the game kept the Bucs from starting an earlier comeback. It is impressive, however, that the Buccaneers came back after having been down by 13 points going into halftime. Brady is in the top ten for yards, completions, and touchdowns this season and his supporting cast has been phenomenal. Minnesota has some gaping holes in their pass defense and is one of the worst pass-rushing teams in the league. They are 26th and 27th in passing yards and passing touchdowns allowed per game and have produced the 10th least amount of sacks on the year.

The backfield of Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette has been versatile since their beginning and have opened up many opportunities for their offense. In the past two weeks, they have combined for just 117 yards between the two of them and have struggled against tough rushing defenses. However, last week Ronald Jones scored in the passing game and two weeks ago Fournette put up a rushing touchdown against the Rams. However, again next week Minnesota does well at defending the run, allowing the second least amount of rushing touchdowns and just 4.3 yards per attempt. However, if Eric Kendricks is out, they will have the opportunity to capitalize in the run game.

Tampa Bay’s defense has been outstanding for them this season. However, two weeks ago they struggled heavily to contain the duo of Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill. Tyreek had a special day with 13 catches for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. Carlton Davis, one of the best corners in the league, was heavily responsible for letting Tyreek have a day like this and it was tough to watch. They will need to make adjustments going into a game with the Vikings, who have two of the best receivers in the NFL: Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart

QB: Tom Brady
RB1: Ronald Jones
RB2: Ke’Shawn Vaughn
WR1: Mike Evans
WR2: Chris Godwin
WR3: Justin Watson
TE: Rob Gronkowski

Minnesota Vikings Analysis

The Minnesota Vikings have won their last five of six games and completely flipped their playoff odds after starting 1-5 on the season. Last week, they barely got away from the 1-11 Jacksonville Jaguars with a three-point win in overtime that was sealed by a Dan Bailey 27-yard field goal. The Vikings have the last spot in the NFC wild-card playoffs, but a win against the Buccaneers would tremendously help their odds of making the playoffs.

Last week, Kirk Cousins had a field day against the Jaguars, with a stat line of 305-3-1 on the day. He has put up 300+ yards in his last three-game, accompanied by 3 touchdowns per game in his last those outings as well. He connected with Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen last week for a combined 17 catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns. The Tampa Bay secondary has proven to be human against the Chiefs, but the Vikings should be most worried about their pass rush. They have produced the 5th most sacks on the season with an 8.4% sack rate. The Vikings have the 8th worst sack rate and have allowed 25 total sacks on the year.

Dalvin Cook has been cooking since the bye week in week 7, having four of six games since with 100+ rushing yards. He has been receiving 26.5 carries per game in that span and half of those games he has seen 30+ carries. Last week, he had one of his better days in the receiving game with six catches for 59 yards. The Buccaneers have allowed the least amount of rushing yards on the season to opponents and just 3.3 yards per attempt, which is the best value in the NFL. Dalvin will have his hands full next week in the run game.

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense has been pretty unreliable this season and they will need to make adjustments against this extremely productive offense. They are below average on both ends of the ball against their opponents and have allowed a lot of points to teams like the Cowboys, Panthers, and Jaguars. They will need to step up their game to get by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week, who average the 6th most points per game in the NFL with 28.7 points per game.

Minnesota Vikings Depth Chart

QB: Kirk Cousins
RB1: Dalvin Cook
RB2: Alexander Mattison
WR1: Adam Thielen
WR2: Justin Jefferson
WR3: Bisi Johnson
TE: Kyle Rudolph

Betting Corner Buccaneers -6.5

Spread: +/- 6.5
Moneyline: Bucs -300, Vikings +250
Over/Under: 52

Prediction

Spread: Bucs -6.5
Moneyline: Bucs -300
Over/Under: o52

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need a win to secure their spot in the playoffs, and a loss to the Vikings would put them in serious trouble. The Buccaneers are coming off of two straight losses and are due for a win. I like to think that the Vikings could cover the spread in this one and I would hear that argument, but the Buccaneers defense may be too much for the Vikings offense to handle.

The Vikings, however, still have some serious weaponry on their offensive end and will put up points in the game. This game should push the over considering both of these teams have stellar offenses.

Love/Hate Fantasy Picks

Love

Mike Evans has gotten in the endzone in each of the last three games and twice against the Kansas City Chiefs. In the last three weeks, Mike Evans has the most targets out of the loaded cast of wide receivers for the Bucs and is the clear red zone favorite. The Minnesota Vikings allow the second-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers, so I would anticipate that he has a solid outing. But, it will be hard to prove with targets being scattered.

Hate

Dalvin Cook will be a huge factor for the Vikings’ offense in this game, especially with Alexander Mattison out again. However, while he will most likely put up double-digit points, I would not expect him to put up his usual 25 point average. He has been shut down by some defenses before, and I have a feeling this could be a bit of a shut down for him next week considering the Buccaneers have allowed the third least amount of fantasy points to running backs and they have one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL.