Sportsnaut
It is looking more and more likely that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be close to full strength on offense for a massive Monday Night Football clash with the Detroit Lions.
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense deserve a ton of credit for their 30-19 win over the San Francisco 49ers last week. They are one of the top 10 best offenses in the NFL right now, but Mike Evans, Emeka Egbuka, and Bucky Irving were all sidelined in Week 6. However, they face an elite offense on Monday and will need all the weapons they can get to keep pace.
While they won’t have Irving in the backfield against the Lions on MNF, they are very close to getting their star receivers back.
“Despite both wide receivers being listed as questionable for Monday night’s game at Detroit, Mike Evans is likely to play, and Emeka Egbuka has ‘a real chance to play’ despite suffering a low-grade hamstring strain last Sunday,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Sunday. “Bucs will not decide on Egbuka’s status until pre-game warmups.”
Evans has not played since suffering a Week 3 hamstring injury. Having the greatest receiver in team history and a man who has developed great chemistry with Mayfield is a must if they want to match a Lions offense that is averaging 31.8 points per game.
However, despite not having the legend for half of the season, Egbuka has been spectacular in his rookie season in Tampa. Posting a pair of 100-plus receiving yard games while Evans was sidelined, including a 163-yard day in a Week 5 win over the Seattle Seahawks. He is a big reason why the Buccaneers are 5-1 heading into Week 7.
Buccaneers vs. Lions is a massive first-half matchup between a pair of NFC elites. With the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in a slump, the pair of clubs are seen as the top two in the conference right now. A win will go a long way toward getting the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and an important postseason tie-breaker.
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