Buccaneers vs. Patriots Week 5 Thursday Night Football key info and open thread

This is one of those games where it’s difficult to decide who you want to win, because both teams are so loathsome. On one hand, you have NFC South rival Buccaneers, a wannabe-2012 Falcons squad stocked with former Atlanta players and coaches but without the charm and winning. On the other hand, you have the Patriots dynasty, a team led by strawberry-hating robot and nutritional scam artist Tom Brady that is responsible for both the oversized egos of Patriots fans and the Falcons’ Super Bowl loss in February. Can both teams lose, please?

Setting aside my disdain for them, though, this promises to be one of the better Thursday night games. The Bucs are a little bit of a mystery, still, given their off-and-on defensive struggles and ongoing lack of a quality ground game, but they’re objectively at least a decent team. The Patriots, meanwhile, have the league’s most embarrassing defense thus far, but an offense that is as good as the other side of the ball is bad. That combination makes for entertaining, close games most of the time.

So buckle up for tonight. I’m going to pull for the Pats because I want the Falcons to win the NFC South again, but boy, am I reluctant about it. Here’s the key info you’ll need, and please use this as your open thread.

Buccaneers vs. Patriots key info

Time: 8:25 p.m. EST

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

TV Channel: NFL Network/CBS

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