It's been five weeks since the Bucs D has had a challenge near the level of what they'll get Sunday from the Vikings

Think about the Bucs’ last three opponents – Seattle, Dallas and Kansas City – three teams that started backup quarterbacks and had second-rate offenses.

Tampa Bay’s “D” performed superbly in two of those games and got lit up by the Chiefs before the bye week. Lost in all that celebrating and postgame Chucky spin, was K.C. racking up  183 yards on the ground and 384 for the game.

So here come the Vikings into Tampa on Sunday with 1,000-yards-already running back Adrian Peterson and a quarterback who’s better and smarter than Seneca Wallace, Brad Johnson and Tyler Thigpen, the last three to start against the Bucs.

(Yes, Joe knows Gus Frerotte sucks, but he’s still better than those three. And the Vikings are 5-2 since he took over as the starter.)

Minnesota represents a supreme test for the Bucs defense, and, frankly, they need it. It’s been too long since they’ve had to face a playoff caliber challenge.

Unfortunately, there’s no reason to think the Bucs offense will move the ball consistently against the Vikings’ stud pass rush and run-stuffing defense, third best in the NFL. Heck, the Bucs have struggled against much worse.

It will be up to the defense to prove again they can take over a game against a quality opponent.  We haven’t seen that since the Carolina game five weeks ago.