TAMPA, Fla. — Fresh off a win over the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look to even their record at 5-5 when they play the NFL's first-ever regular season game in Germany on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
Tampa Bay's offense continued to sputter in Sunday's victory over the Rams, only coming through in the final seconds when Tom Brady hit Cade Otton for a touchdown that sealed the victory. Even in victory, Tampa struggled with the same problems that have dogged them all season.
The Bucs ran the ball 20 times for 51 yards against Los Angeles, averaging just 2.6 yards per carry. For the season, the Bucs rank dead last in the NFL in rushing offense, with 546 rushing yards on the season and averaging just 3 yards per carry.
For comparison, there are more than a dozen players with more than 546 rushing yards on the season, including two quarterbacks (Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields). Put simply, the Bucs' running game is historically bad.
On the flip side, Brady continues to throw the ball well. His Bucs are ranked fourth in the league in passing yards, 11th in completion percentage (65.3), and Brady's thrown the fewest interceptions of any quarterback in the National Football League.
Coincidentally, while the Bucs' offensive line can't run the ball, they have protected Brady well, giving up the fifth fewest sacks this season (14) and the tenth fewest sack yards (102).
With that offense in tow, the Bucs head to Munich to battle a Seahawks team that was not expected to be that good this year but has jumped out to a 6-3 record and currently leads the NFC West.
Seattle's led by quarterback Geno Smith, who has thrown for 2,199 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just 4 interceptions while adding another 196 rushing yards to his impressive total this year.
Smith is aided in his attack by a strong running game from rookie Kenneth Walker, III. Walker has run the ball 111 times for 570 yards and 7 touchdowns on the season, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.
And while it's not the old "Legion of Boom" defenses from years past, Seattle's defense has been good enough to get the team to a four-game winning streak heading into Sunday morning's game in Munich. Seattle is coming off a 31-21 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
While the game will be an early start for the Bucs, it'll be even earlier for the Seahawks. Sunday's game will kick off at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time in Germany, 6:30 a.m. Pacific Time.
ABC Action News will have a pre-game special on the Munich game starting at 8:30 a.m. and a postgame show after the game ends.
