Game 9

Cardinals (3-5-1) at Bucs (2-6)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13, NFL Sunday Ticket Channel 711.

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network WXTB-FM 97.9 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region; 97.9 FM ESPN Radio in Tallahassee (Transmisiones de radio en español en WTMP-FM 96.1 y WMGG-AM 1470 en Tampa); SiriusXM Channel 113.

Weather: Per the good people at WTVT-TV Channel 13, today’s game should be played under delightful conditions. Tailgaters will be swilling beers in the low 70s and by kickoff look for the temperature to be 77 degrees. The temperature will rise slightly to 79 in the third quarter and by the end of the game should be 78. All under sunny skies.

Odds: Per the Mirage in Las Vegas, Bucs -4.5; O/U 52.

Outlook: In the big picture, the Bucs should not win this game if they want a good draft pick. But once toe hits the leather, Joe cannot pull for a defeat. This game has Joe confused. The Big Red are not very good. However, rookie quarterback Kyler Murray is just dangerous enough to light up this disgusting Bucs secondary. Just the thought of what Larry Fitzgerald can do going up against Jamel Dean or Sean Murphy-Bunting, both raw rookies, or even Mike Edwards if he gets on the field, is truly frightening. Joe has a hunch this game is going to be very much like the Rams game, the Seahawks game and the first half of the Giants game in that if the Bucs hope to win, they have to win in a shootout. As horrible as the Bucs’ secondary is, the Bucs cannot rely on the run game or they could get blown out. If you think about it, the Bucs don’t really have a bad team, except for the secondary which is so godawful it drags down the rest of the team. America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler Jameis Winston, has a recent history of playing good ball against NFC West teams. Joe hopes that continues today and it must if the Bucs hope to win. But, given the Bucs’ history of how they shat the bed against rookie and backup quarterbacks, would it really surprise anyone if the Bucs lost today?

Trinkets: Cardinals QB Kyler Murray passed for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns without an interception last week. Murray leads NFL rookie quarterbacks in passing yards (2,229). Ranks second among all quarterbacks in rushing yards (313). Murray hasn’t thrown a pick in his last 172 passing attempts and has yet to fumble on any of his rushing attempts. … RB David Johnson had 143 scrimmage yards (98 receiving, 45 rush) in his lone career game against Tampa Bay (September 2016). Johnson has 7 touchdowns (4 rush, 3 receiving) in his past 5 games against NFC South teams. Johnson is looking for his third road game in a row against an NFC South team with 100-or more scrimmage yards and his sixth in a row overall against an NFC South team with a score. … RB Kenyan Drake had 162 scrimmage yards (110 rush, 52 receiving) and a rushing touchdown in his Cardinals debut last week. It was his third career game with 100-or more rush yards. … WR Larry Fitzgerald has 27 catches for 355 yards (88.8 per game) and 5 touchdowns in his past 4 games against Tampa Bay. Fitzgerald is looking for his fifth in a row against Tampa Bay with a receiving touchdown. … WR Keesean Johnson had his first career touchdown catch last week. … WR Andy Isabella had an 88-yard receiving touchdown in Week 9, his first career touchdown. … LB Chandler Jones had a sack last week. He had 2 sacks in his last game against the Bucs and has four sacks in three against facing Tampa Bay. Jones is looking for his fourth in a row against Tampa Bay with a sack. Since 2015, Jones leads the NFL with 63 sacks and ranks second in forced fumbles (17). … LB Terrell Suggs had a sack in his last game at Tampa Bay (October 2014 with Baltimore). … S Budda Baker had a career-high 3 passes defended in Week 9. Baker is looking for his third game in a row with 13-or more tackles. Since 2017, Baker is 1 of 2 defensive backs (Jamal Adams) with 225-or more tackles (234) and 4-or more forced fumbles (4). … CB Patrick Peterson has 3 interceptions and 4 passes defended in 3 career games against Tampa Bay. … QB Jameis Winston passed for 335 yards and 2 touchdowns without a pick last week. Jameis is 1 of 4 quarterbacks (Pat Mahomes, mouthy Philip Rivers and Matty Ice) with 5 or more games (5) of 300 or more passing yards in 2019. Jameis looks for his fourth in a row with 300 or more pass yards. He has 2 or more touchdown passes in 3 of his 4 career home starts against the NFC West. … RB Ronald Jones had 67 rush yards and a touchdown last week. He has a rushing touchdown in 2 of his past 3 games. Has 90 or more scrimmage yards in 2 of his past 3 home games. … RB Dare Ogunbowale had a rushing touchdown in Week 9 and has a rushing touchdown in 2 of his past 3 games. … WR Mike Evans had 12 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown catch in Week 9. Evans is the first player in NFL history with 11 or more receptions and 180 or more receiving yards in consecutive games. He joined A.J. Green (2016) and Wes Welker (2011) as the only players with 8 or more catches, 150 or more receiving yards and a touchdown catch in 3 of their team’s first 8 games of a season. Evans looks for his third in row against Arizona with a touchdown catch. … WR Chris Godwin has 3 receiving touchdowns in his past 3 games against NFC West teams. Evans (842) and Godwin (766) are the only pair of teammates in 2019 each with 700 or more receiving yards. … LB Lavonte David had a sack and 2 tackles for loss last week. David had 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery the last time the Bucs played the Cardinals. … Rookie LB Devin White had a career-high 12 tackles and 2 forced fumbles in Week 9, his first career forced fumbles. … LB Shaq Barrett leads the NFL with 10.5 sacks. He had a sack in his only career game against Arizona (November 2018 with the Broncos.). Barrett has 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in three home games this season.