The Seattle Seahawks are riding a hot three-game winning streak, which they’ll put on the line when they travel to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12. Seattle has a comfortable lead in the NFC West and is hunting for a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Seahawks vs. Buccaneers 2016: Time, TV schedule for Week 12 matchup
The Seahawks are rolling right now, but they’re still dealing with key injuries as they travel to Tampa this week.
The Seahawks are 7-2-1 after a convincing win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit the team once again. Star safety Earl Thomas pulled his hamstring in the game and is sitting out this week. It’s the first game he’ll miss in his seven-year career. Thomas is the backbone of the Seahawks’ defense, the engine that makes the Legion of Boom click. His absence will surely be felt. Michael Bennett will also miss another game, leaving the Seahawks without two of their most important playmakers on defense.
The injury problems don’t end at defense, though. Rookie running back C.J. Prosise, in the midst of a breakout, injured his shoulder and is likely out for the regular season. That leaves Thomas Rawls as the top guy in Seattle’s backfield, and he figures to see a heavy workload coming off an injury of his own.
On the bright side, Russell Wilson is finally healthy and back to carving up defenses, throwing for 902 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the past three games. He still isn’t running as much as he did in the past, but Wilson looks like he’s back in form and leading the offense in the post-Marshawn Lynch era.
The Bucs have been up-and-down in Dirk Koetter’s first season as head coach, but they have some momentum with a two-game winning streak. They’re coming off an impressive 19-17 road win over the Kansas City Chiefs, improving to 5-5 and keeping their playoff hopes alive and well. With the Atlanta Falcons scuffling at 6-4, Tampa has a real shot to steal the division if it keeps playing well. The Bucs split their regular season series with the Falcons.
Jameis Winston has stabilized after a turnover-laden start to the year, throwing eight touchdowns to just one interception in his past four games. In addition, the running backs are finally getting healthy with Doug Martin back, while Mike Evans shook off a sophomore slump to re-emerge as one of the league’s rising star receivers. The Bucs have a lot of intriguing weapons on offense and will be a tough out if they play with more consistency.
Another promising development for Tampa is the revival of Robert Aguayo. The much-maligned second-round rookie had a nightmarish start to his NFL career, missing five of 12 field goal attempts in the first eight games. Since then, he’s rebounded and come through against the Chiefs, making all four of his field goal attempts that ultimately helped decide the game. If Aguayo has his confidence back and can keep nailing clutch kicks like he did at Florida State, the Bucs will have a nifty ace up their sleeve in close games.
How to watch
Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
Place: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin
Online: Sunday Ticket, Fox Sports GO
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