The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are set to play Sunday against a team that has historically had their number.
The Tennessee Titans are coming to town, and in the 12 games the two teams have played against each other, things haven’t gone great for the Bucs. Nevertheless, this is a new year and a new team, and head coach Todd Bowles will be desperately looking for a win to avoid furthering a four-game losing streak in Tampa Bay. Quarterback Baker Mayfield will also be delighted to play against the Titans, as he had a fantastic outing against them the last time he faced them.
Here are five things to know about this series before the game on Sunday kicks off:
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The Titans typically get the best of the Bucs, no matter what they’re called during any point in history.
Including the Houston Oilers, Tampa Bay is just 2-10 against Tennessee all-time. The last time the Bucs could say they beat the Titans is in 2007, when Tampa Bay won at home 13-10 — that’s the only win the Bucs have against the franchise since 1989.
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The Tennessee Titans are at the bottom of the AFC South with a 3-5 record, and most of those losses have come away from the Volunteer State.
The Titans are 0-4 on the road and 3-1 at home, making for a volatile team whenever it travels out of Tennessee. This may not be as big of a factor when the Bucs are close to the opposite, though — Tampa Bay is just 1-3 at home and 2-2 on the road, so something will have to give when the two teams meet at Raymond James Stadium.
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There’s a long list of players who have played for both franchises, with the most recent being former Bucs corner Sean Murphy-Bunting. Murphy-Bunting is injured and likely won’t have a homecoming in Raymond James Stadium, but other notable alumni of both teams currently on active rosters include kicker Nick Folk, safety Andrew Adams, quarterback Blaine Gabbert and current Bucs player Aaron Stinnie.
(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
In the same scenario faced with the Houston Texans, the Bucs aren’t set to play the AFC South again until 2027. There is a chance the two could meet in 2025, however, should Tampa Bay and Tennessee finish in the same division spot during the 2024 season.
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Things didn’t go well for Tennessee last time Baker Mayfield came to town.
Mayfield played the Titans as a member of the Cleveland Browns in December of 2020. In that game, he threw four touchdowns, zero interceptions and completed over 75% of his passes in one of his best games — he’ll certainly look to replicate that performance on Sunday.
