Amidst of a gauntlet of games against some of the top contenders for the NFC title, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Seattle in Week Five for a game against the Seahawks at Lumen Field on Sunday, October 5. The game is currently scheduled to kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET, though the specter of the Seattle Mariners playing at home in the MLB playoffs could create a complication.
The Buccaneers and Seahawks are both 3-1, though Tampa Bay is coming off its first loss while Seattle is on a three-game winning streak. Tampa Bay's defeat came at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in Week Four, who stood as the NFC's only undefeated team after the early-afternoon games, though San Francisco could join them with a win over Jacksonville. The Buccaneers will also play San Francisco in Week Six and the 3-1 Detroit Lions in Week Seven.
The Bucs' 31-25 loss at home to the Eagles came after they fell behind 21-3 in the first half. Baker Mayfield threw touchdown passes of 77 yards to Emeka Egbuka and 72 yards to Bucky Irving but it wasn't quite enough as Tampa Bay committed its first two turnovers of the season and had several miscues on special teams, including a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Mayfield has eight touchdown passes and one interception through four games and Egbuka has emerged as one of the NFL's top offensive rookies with 18 catches for 282 yards and four touchdowns through four games.
The Seahawks will be operating on a bit of extra rest when they face the Buccaneers, as they started the NFL's Week Four slate with a 23-20 road win against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night. Seattle's defense is allowing just 16.8 points per game and the Seahawks have outscored their opponents by 11.0 points per game. New starting quarterback Sam Darnold has a 106.5 passer rating and has already thrown for 905 yards through four games. Third-year receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the new number-one receiver in Seattle after the offseason departures of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and he has responded with 26 catches for 402 yards and a touchdown through four weeks.
