Game 13

Vikings (6-6) at Bucs (7-5)

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: FOX (WTVT-TV Channel 13, locally); NFL Sunday Ticket Channel 711.

Streaming: Fans may stream the broadcast from Buccaneers.com or on a mobile device using one of the following: Buccaneers official app, FOX Sports GO app or Yahoo! Sports app. Geographic restrictions apply.

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 138 (Bucs broadcast).

Weather: Just about a perfect day. If any Vikings fans come down from the northlands they may never leave. Yes, Vikings fans, this is mid-December in Florida. Per AccuWeather.com, expect a kickoff temperature of 79 that will slightly rise to 80 in the first half and slowly slip to 78 at game’s end, all under partly sunny skies. Virtually no wind is expected. You like that? If Joe was a real estate agent in the area, he’d hang out at the Den of Depression and anyone wearing purple would get Joe’s card.

Odds: Per BetMGM, as of Saturday evening, Bucs -6.5; 52.5-under.

Outlook: Joe almost hopes Vikings running back Dalvin Cook has a decent game. The Bucs have not yet given up 60 yards on the ground in a game to any running back this season. The way Joe looks at it, if Cook runs for near 100, it’s going to be a quicker game. If the Bucs try to get into a shootout with the Vikings, that scares the hell out of Joe. Nobody plays better against blitzes than Kirk Cousins. And his receiving unit is loaded, including stud rookie Justin Jefferson. We keep hearing how the Bucs are going to stay committed to running the ball (when they do it seems to spark the offense) and Ronald Jones is the fourth-leading runner in the NFL. Let’s see if Bucco Bruce Arians is just paying lip service or not. The Bucs offense through the month of November was, at best, inconsistent. They only scored one touchdown in the opening quarter in the five games played in November. That will not cut it; the Bucs must open games better. And that goes for defensive coordinator Todd Bowles as well. The last three times the Bucs tried to get into a shootout, they lost all three games after falling behind early with lousy defense (Saints, Rams and Chiefs). And Joe will walk out on a limb and suggest the Vikings have better offensive weapons than the Rams. Joe will take Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph, Dalvin Cook and Jefferson over Jared Goff, Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee and Cam Akers. Joe hopes Bucs fans can understand why Joe is wringing his hands over this game. Basically, if the Bucs win they are very likely in the playoffs. If they lose… uh, oh.

Trinkets: … Vikings QB Kirk Cousins passed for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns against an interception. He has 26 touchdown passes and is the only quarterback with 25+ touchdown passes in each of the past 6 seasons. Cousins looks for his fourth game in a row with 3+ touchdown passes and 300+ passing yards. Passed for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns against 0 interceptions and had a rushing touchdown in only career game against Tampa Bay in October 2015 in the notorious Capitol Collapse. “You like that?” … RB Dalvin Cook had 179 scrimmage yards (120 rushing, 59 receiving) in Week 13. Has 4 games with 175+ scrimmage yards in 2020, most in the NFL. Has 644 scrimmage yards (128.8 per game) and 8 touchdowns (7 rushing, 1 receiving) in 5 road games this season. Cook had 169 scrimmage yards (97 rushing, 72 receiving) and rushing touchdown in the last meeting against the Bucs. Cook leads the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,564) and rushing touchdowns (13). … WR Justin Jefferson had 9 receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown catch last week. He has 1,039 receiving yards and became the fifth rookie in the Super Bowl era with 1,000+ receiving yards in his first 12 career games. Jefferson looks for his fourth in a row with a touchdown catch. … WR Adam Thielen had 8 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown catch last week. He looks for his fourth in a row with a receiving touchdown. Thielen had 5 catches for 98 yards in the last meeting between the Bucs and the Vikings. Thielen ranks third in the NFL with a career-high 12 rec touchdowns this season. … LB Erick Kendricks leads the Vikings with 107 tackles, his fifth consecutive 100+ tackle season. … LB Eric Wilson tied for the team lead with 11 tackles last week. He has sacks and 2 tackles for loss in 2 of his past 3 on the road. Wilson is the only player with 3+ sacks (3) and 3+ interceptions (3) this season. … Rookie CB Cameron Danztler had an interception, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in Week 13, all the first of his career. … S Harrison Smith had a half-sack and a pick last week. Since 2012, Smith ranks third in interceptions (27). … Bucs QB Tom Brady passed for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns against 2 interceptions in Week 12. Is 1 of 4 NFC quarterbacks (Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson) with 5+ games (5) with 3+ touchdown passes this season. Has 18 seasons with 3,000+ pass yards, tied with Hall of Famer Brett Favre (18) for most in NFL history. He has 10 touchdowns against 2 interceptions in 5 career starts against Minnesota. … RB Ronald Jones had 103 scrimmage yards (66 rushing, 37 receiving) and his first-career receiving touchdown in Week 12. RoJo needs 19 scrimmage yards for second-consecutive 1,000+ scrimmage yard season. He has 3 rushing touchdowns in his past 4 at home. … WR Mike Evans had 2 receiving touchdowns in Week 12. He has 11 games with 2+ touchdown catches, fourth-most in NFL since 2014. Ranks fourth in NFL with 11 receiving touchdown in 2020. looks for his third in row at home with a touchdown catch. … WR Chris Godwin had 8 catches for 97 yards in Week 12. Has 5+ receptions in 7 of his 8 games this season. Godwin looks for his third in a row with 7+ catches. … WR Antonio Brown has 7+ receptions in 2 of his past 3 games. … TE Rob Gronkowski had 6 catches for a season-high 106 receiving yards in Week 12. He has 29 career 100-yard games, second-most by a tight end in NFL history. … LB Lavonte David ranks second in tackles (1,096) and tied for second in tackles for loss (126) since entering NFL in 2012. David looks for his ninth-straight game at home with 7+ tackles. He had 14 tackles and 3 tackles for a loss in his only career home game against the Vikings in October 2014. .. LB Devin White is the only player with 100+ tackles (109) and 5+ sacks (5) this season. He looks for his fifth in a row at home with 9+ tackles. … LB Jason Pierre-Paul is 1 of 2 players (Aaron Donald is the other) with 8+ sacks in each of past 4 seasons.

The Last Word: Bucs quarterback Tom Brady has never lost to the Vikings.