GoJo and Golic preview Thursday Night Football: Can the Bills bounce back vs. the Bucs?

It’s Thursday and you know what that means — it’s time for another Thursday Night Football preview with Mike Golic Jr. and Mike Golic Sr.!

Bills star Stefon Diggs recently expressed an opinion as to why the Bills have done well of late on Thursday Night Football, noting that it’s a shorter week and the players aren’t practicing as much and utilizing walkthroughs more.

Senior says he agrees with Diggs, nothing that when he played (although there was no regular Thursday games, just Thanksgiving) you never touched your pads on a short week where you had a Thursday game (Buddy Ryan, notwithstanding). He says it’s all about walkthroughs and getting your body right. Senior notes that the Bills have been a bit nicked up on defense and the Bucs have some injury woes on the offensive side of the ball as we’re getting toward the point of the season where those nicks turn into missed games.

GoJo says he’s still inclined to lean Buffalo’s way in this game, despite the fact that the Bills have lost two of their three games. He does point out that the Bills have become something of a M.A.S.H. unit to the point where he’s not sure if any team needs something like the mini-bye that follows a Thursday game more than Buffalo. Senior says if you’re a banged-up Bill you have to gut through this game as best as you can knowing you have the 10 days off following it.

Meanwhile, for Tampa Bay, Senior points out they’re in an NFC South which appears to be wide-open. You have three teams fighting for one playoff spot. Tampa Bay started 2-0, but Senior points out that their offense has become stagnant and come crashing back to Earth. So while so much of the attention this week is focused on the Bills, Senior notes that the Bucs have plenty to play for as well. As GoJo points out, against our better judgment, someone from the NFC South will make the playoffs. Meanwhile, GoJo raises an interesting thought …

GoJo says Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have outplayed expectations, but long-term questions remain about the quarterback position in Tampa. GoJo says he doesn’t think you can go into this offseason without addressing that position somehow, some way. As for Buffalo, the question is going to be whether this is a team you trust to win the Super Bowl this season. GoJo says he struggles to say no and that he thinks it comes down to the Josh Allen factor. He says the Bills have been banged up before and they’ve found a way through it, which makes him believe they’re still going to be a playoff team, they still have a very real chance to win the AFC East, but he struggles with the Super Bowl portion just because health is almost the sole determining factor when it comes to the playoffs and he doesn’t know where he sits with the Bills there. This is a team, he says, with a questionable window because of the injuries. Senior says he puts KC, Miami and Baltimore at least ahead of Buffalo, which GoJo agrees with.

Meanwhile, transitioning to hoops, GoJo made an interesting comp for Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut …

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Hour 1: Victor Wembanyama tricked us, Sam Darnold’s Revenge Tour, and Michigan’s Spygate & Connor The Stalions’ diary prove getting caught is always worse than cheating

VIDEO:

Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show will also be available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.

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