Game 11

Bucs (5-5) at Browns (3-7) 

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

TV: WTVT-TV Channel 13, Sunday Ticket Channel 709.

Streaming: NFL+ and Buccaneers.com (Geographic restrictions apply).

Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network WXTB-FM 97.9 in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region (Transmisiones de radio en español en WTMP-FM 96.1 y WMGG-AM 1470 en Tampa). Additional stations throughout Florida on the Buccaneers Radio Network can be found here. The game also will be broadcast on SiriusXM Channel 381 (Buccaneers Radio Network broadcast).

Weather: All this talk about cold and rain in Cleveland and how the Bucs will handle it, please. It’s supposed to be warmer in Cleveland today than when the Bucs played in Munich. Tailgaters will have to brave low-50s, per AccuWeather.com. Temperature at kickoff is expected to be 56 with rain. However, the rain shouldn’t stick around and most of the game will not be played in the rain. Precipitation is expected near the game’s end when it should still be in the mid-50s. Quality football weather in November for the Rust Belt.

Odds: Per BetMGM, as of noon today, Bucs -3.5; over/under 41.5.

Referees: Rookie referee Tra Blake will work this game. There is not a lot of info on this crew (without Joe paying big money to unlock it) but in the 10 games Blake’s crew has worked, home teams have won half the time which sounds very fair to Joe. Home teams in games Blake works are also 60 percent against the spread.

Injuries: Browns— Out: CB Greg Newsome (concussion). Bucs — Out: RB Playoff Lenny (hip), WR Russell Gage (hamstring), G Luke Goedeke (foot). Questionable: NT Vita Vea (foot). 

Outlook: Joe thought former Bucs guard Ian Beckles put it perfectly. He loved how the Bucs played in Germany but was quick to caution that one game isn’t a trend. Indeed. Was that game a fluke, or is it a sign the Bucs turned the corner? Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich hasn’t done much right this year. So consider the source when he stated this week the reason why he hadn’t given rookie running back Racheed White a lot of touches is that he didn’t think he was ready. Leftwich gave White a bunch of carries against the Seahawks because Leftwich said White was ready. Today, there’s no Playoff Lenny, who is out with a hip pointer. So is White ready to carry the full load? We will see. The Browns are soft up the middle against the run and we all know Leftwich’s fetish for running up the middle. Will the Browns outsmart Leftwich and pack the middle of the field waiting for him to run up Robert Hainsey’s tail end? Even though the Browns are a bad football team they are a physical team. They have to be in the NFC North. We saw what happened in October when the Bucs traveled to a bad AFC North team and got their arses handed to them. The Bucs are 0-3 this year against the NFC. That’s why Joe is worried about today. Beckles’ words are stuck in Joe’s head: One game is not a trend. Please Bucs, let today get Joe celebrating a trend.

Fun facts: Tom Brady is 7-1 in his career against the Browns. He’s thrown for 13 touchdowns in those eight games against four picks. … The past four years in the first game after a bye, the Bucs have averaged eight points under the point total.

Ira Kaufman Shares Bucs-Browns Meaning And Predictions, Talks Tom Brady Philosophy, Running Back Changes & More

.@rondebarber breaks down film from before the bye week 🎞️#GoBucs pic.twitter.com/sgEVsn4nZA

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) November 23, 2022