The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be dressed to impress as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12. Tampa will be decked out in their red jerseys and pewter pants, a classic combo from the Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden era.
The bigger question is how the team will play in these uniforms after the Buccaneers struggled in the second half against the Rams. The Bucs face an even bigger test this week against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Tampa is 3.5-point home underdogs against Kansas City, per OddsShark. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians noted there are not any other NFL quarterbacks quite like Mahomes.
“I think he’s a very unique individual,” Arians explained, per Buccaneers.com. “You teach young guys to never throw it back across the field, but he does it in a ridiculous manner – sidearm, underhand – and he’s very accurate. I think most guys cannot do that. He has a different skillset than other people as far as throwing back across the field. But, you’ve still got to chase him around [and] you’ve got to plaster down the field. He also does a great job of running and getting first downs himself. It’s a different, unique challenge when you start chasing him around.”
Mahomes Believes He Has a Ways to Go Before He Gets to Brady’s Level
Mahomes is used to squaring off against Brady, but it has typically come in the AFC playoffs. Brady will be wearing a red jersey instead of his traditional Patriots’ navy, but Mahomes still believes he has a lot to accomplish before he can be compared to the Bucs quarterback.
“He’s someone that’s a global star,” Mahomes noted, via Sporting News. “For me, I just try to be myself and go out there every single day and put in the work and try to win football games. All that other stuff kind of comes with it. I just try to be a normal guy and live it up with my team-mates and have fun doing it.”
Brady Visited the Chiefs Locker Room After the 2019 AFC Championship
As for Brady, it has been an up-and-down season for the legendary quarterback as the Buccaneers have struggled against the top teams on their schedule as well as in primetime matchups. The good news for the Bucs is this game will happen in the afternoon, but the Chiefs are likely the best team Tampa has faced this season.
Heading into the Week 12 matchup, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid recounted a story of Brady visiting the team’s locker room after the Patriots won the AFC Championship in 2019. Reid noted that Brady met with Mahomes to offer a few encouraging words and a year later the Chiefs would end up making the Super Bowl.
“First of all, I’m thankful that Tom talked to Patrick when Patrick was young and gave him the words of encouragement that he did after the championship game there,” Reid said, per Tampa Bay Times. “I’m grateful to him for that. To a young guy, that means a lot. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that, and Patrick did, too. It was just a respect thing and I just really thought that was great. That was a tough game, and he just said, ‘Hey, you just keep being you and things are going to work out.’ I think that just kind of, those simple words, that’s big for a young guy to hear, especially from somebody that great.”
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Buccaneers Reveal Fan-Favorite Jersey & Uniform Combo vs. Chiefs