Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Minnesota Vikings Gamethread

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Minnesota Vikings for the 52nd time today. Overall the Vikings lead this series 31-20, but the Bucs have won the last four matchups and have won nine of the 15 confrontations since the Glazers bought the team in 1996.

Check out our pre-game coverage before the game starts:

Game Predictions
Matchups on defense
Matchups on offense

If the Bucs win this game, they're assured of a shared lead in the division, as the entire NFC South lost their week 1 games. But this is a game in which the Bucs really need to show up: they play an eminently beatable opponent, and this is the kind of game they need to win if they want to take the next step. If they start the season 0-2, reaching the playoffs will be very difficult indeed.

Can the Bucs take their share of the lead in the division, or are they going to falter?