Kansas City Chiefs: Getting to know the Buccaneers before Week 12

The Kansas City Chiefs face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon. Let’s get to know the enemy.

The 9-1 Kansas City Chiefs head to Florida to face the 7-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers for an AFC West vs NFC South match-up (only KC’s second game against an NFC South team this season). To get everyone psyched for the battle, I asked Rob Leeds of The Pewter Plank (FanSided’s Buccaneers site) some questions to help us get to know the Bucs a little more.

Here’s my Q&A with Robert.

1) What were the expectations for the Bucs this year? Are those expectations still achievable at this point of the season?

RL: “Given the talent on the team, every expectation at the beginning of the season started with the playoffs. The Bucs have one of the best teams on paper, but we all knew that there would be a learning curve when you bring in so many new faces. The Buccaneers are still in a great position to achieve this goal, but flaming out in the first round would still feel like a letdown.”

2) What is the Bucs’ biggest strength this year and what’s their biggest weakness?

RL: “The biggest strength for the Buccaneers so far this season is their offense. While this is opposite of what has been spread throughout the media over the past few months, Tampa Bay has a top-10 quarterback, offensive line, and the skill players are probably second only to the Chiefs. The offense hasn’t clicked at times this season, but the ceiling for this unit is extremely high. The biggest weakness for now is the secondary. It looked like the defensive woes against the pass from the past few years had come to an end, but the Bucs still give up far too many free passes and make mediocre quarterbacks look like stars.”

3) Who is someone on offense and on defense that Chiefs fans might not know about, but will after this weekend?

RL: “While most of the league has become very familiar with the stars on the Buccaneer offense, Chiefs fans may finally get to meet receiver Scotty Miller this weekend. It seems like every name in the wide receiver corps is a super star after the signing of Antonio Brown, but Miller has shown flashes this season that indicate he will have a long, successful career in the NFL. On the defensive side of the ball, CB1 Carlton Davis is a name that Chiefs fans will get to know very well after this weekend. Davis has emerged as one of the top man corners in the league, and he should get a lot of action in the coming matchup.”

4) What do you think the final record for Tampa will be by the end of the season and how deep do you see them going in the playoffs?

RL: “The Bucs are currently on pace to finish 10-6. A season above .500 is a dramatic improvement over the past few years, but any matchup in the first round of the playoffs will be extremely difficult to overcome if the prior primetime losses are any indication.”

5) What is your prediction for the game?

RL: “The Chiefs should be favored by at least a touchdown in this matchup. The Buccaneer defense has few answers for Kansas City’s strengths, and this game should come down to offensive prowess, where the Chiefs have a substantial advantage.”

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Thanks again to Rob Leeds for taking the time to answer my questions! Make sure to check out The Pewter Plank ahead of this weekend’s matchup.