THE Tampa Bay Buccaneersled by the quarterback Mayfield Bakermeet him Los Angeles Chargersled by the quarterback Justin Herbertin Week 15 of the NFL season on Sunday, December 15, 2024 (12/15/24) at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
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Here’s what you need to know:
What: NFL Week 15
WHO: Buccaneers versus shippers
When: Sunday December 15, 2024 (15/12/24)
Or: SoFi Stadium
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Live broadcast: fuboTV (free trial) DirecTVStream (free trial), Sling TV
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Double: Chargers -3 (Over/Under: 45.5)
Against the spread: Buccaneers 8-5; Chargers 9-4.
Series record: Chargers lead 8-4.
Last meeting: The Chargers defeated the Buccaneers 38-31 in Tampa, Florida on October 4, 2020.
Last week: The Buccaneers beat Las Vegas 28-13; The Chargers lost to Kansas City 19-17.
Buccaneers player to watch
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is trying to lead Tampa Bay to a fourth straight NFC South title. He’s already tied a career high for touchdown passes with 28, but also hasn’t done as good a job taking care of the football as he did a year ago. He threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 15-point win over Las Vegas. He also turned the ball over three times in the first half to help the Raiders stay close until the fourth quarter.
Chargers player to watch
WR Quentin Johnston bounced back from some rough performances to make five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs. But inconsistency has been the defining trait of Johnston’s slow start to his NFL career, so being able to follow through on that will be telling. The Chargers needed the 2023 first-round pick to step up with rookie Ladd McConkey sidelined with knee and shoulder injuries last week. With McConkey’s status uncertain Sunday, Johnston could be recalled.
Key match
Chargers RB Kimani Vidal vs. Buccaneers LB Lavonte David. Vidal, a rookie from Troy, appears to have increased his position in a Chargers backfield that was definitely missing JK Dobbins (knee). Vidal had eight carries for 34 yards while playing 53% of Kansas City’s offensive snaps, more than starter Gus Edwards. The Chargers will stick to the run game under coach Jim Harbaugh, which means newcomer Vidal will have to outwit a 13-year veteran in David. At 34 years old, David remains a force, making seven tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and recovering a fumble against the Raiders. He is eight tackles away from his 11th season of triple-digit saves.
Key injuries
Bucs S Antoine Winfield Jr. left last week’s game with a sprained knee and is expected to be out for a few weeks. S Mike Edwards (hamstring), OLB Markees Watts (knee), LB KJ Britt (ankle) and WR Kameron Johnson (ankle) will also miss Sunday’s game. Leading guard Bucky Irving is dealing with a back injury and is listed as questionable. … Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is dealing with a sprained left ankle but was a full participant in Friday’s practice. TE Will Dissly (shoulder) and WR Jalen Reagor (finger) are out.
Series Notes
While the Chargers have won eight of the first nine meetings between the franchises, Tampa Bay has won the last three. … This will be the Buccaneers’ third trip to Los Angeles and second to SoFi Stadium, where they lost 34-24 to the Rams in September 2021.
Statistics and others
The Bucs are 7-1 in December/January regular season games dating back to last season. They are 19-5 in those games dating back to 2020, the first of Tom Brady’s three years with Tampa Bay. … WR Mike Evans needs 17 receptions and 426 yards over the next four games to finish his 11th straight season with at least 60 catches and 1,000 receiving yards. … Evans had seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown the last time Tampa Bay faced the Chargers (Oct. 4, 2020). … The Bucs have rushed for more than 100 yards in 10 of 13 games. That’s after doing it just nine times in 34 games over the past two regular seasons. … While leader Bucky Irving was out for most of last week’s game against Las Vegas due to a back injury, starter Rachaad White took over with 90 rushing yards on 17 attempts – the two peaks of the season. He also scored two touchdowns, including one receiving. … White’s rushing TD was the 14th for Tampa Bay. That’s more than the Bucs have scored on the field in 2022 (five) and 2023 (eight) combined. … The Chargers turned the ball over a league-low six times. The franchise record for fewest giveaways in a season is 15, which they did in 2006 and 2017. … Herbert hasn’t thrown an interception in 11 straight games. That’s tied with Brady for the longest streak in NFL history. Brady closed out the 2010 regular season for New England clean after Week 5. …S Derwin James Jr. had three tackles for loss and two sacks in his last three games. … PK Cameron Dicker made 65 of 66 field goals under 50 yards in his career, with his 98.5% completion rate the best in league history. Dicker made all 30 attempts inside 50 yards at home. … The Chargers defense has allowed 17 of 31 third-down conversions (54.8%) in two games against the Chiefs. They held their other 11 opponents to 45 of 146 (30.8%).
Fancy tip
The Buccaneers find ways to play shootouts, with eight of their games seeing the winner score 30 points or more. The Chargers find ways to play tough affairs, with only two of their games seeing the winner score 28 points or more. Whoever dictates the play style will determine the fantasy value that comes out of that play.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report)
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