Cardinals vs. Buccaneers preview, injuries, fantasy and predictions

The Arizona Cardinals will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday in Week 13. They kick off from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa at 1 p.m. ET (11 a.m. Arizona time). The game airs on FOX, and the Bucs are favored by 3.5 points.

The Cardinals, losers of eight of their last nine, are facing a team very much in the playoff hunt, leading the NFC South and needing a win to stay in front of the surging Carolina Panthers.

To help Cardinals fans know more about the Bucs, Buc Wire managing editor Andrew Harbaugh takes them "behind enemy lines" and answers some questions I had for him.

Check out the questions and answers below.

The return of Baker Mayfield, Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin

Since it appears that Baker Mayfield and Bucky Irving both will play on Sunday, what do you expect to see offensively from Tampa?

I think the offense is still going to be conservative to an extent. They want to play the long game with Mayfield and Irving so I don't expect them to put them into a position to make things worse for them. That being said, the offense should run much smoother with both men playing, so this unit should look much better than the measly seven points they put up in Week 12.

The good and the bad on defense

What do the Bucs do well and not so well on defense?

What they do well is create pressure in unique ways. They have been able to generate pressure, but not sack the quarterback, all year. The two wild cards in this approach are rookie nickel Jacob Parrish and safety Tykee Smith. Both men have a combined 14 pressures, 33 defensive stops, and four sacks. On the opposite side of things, this team is really struggling in coverage downfield and in the middle of their unit. The linebackers have not played well, and as a result, opposing tight ends and running backs have feasted on chunk plays this year. The Cardinals having Trey McBride may be the biggest issue for the Bucs because of this.

Fantasy advice

Who are your must-start players in fantasy for Tampa and perhaps a sleeper?

Emeka Egbuka may be the only must-start for them in Week 13. The running game is going to be anyone's guess as they will likely have a three-headed monster approach, and outside of Egbuka, everyone else is reliant on touchdowns to produce. At this point, there isn't a sleeper due to everyone being beaten up, so Egbuka is the only person I trust this week.

Key matchups

Which matchups are you most excited and most concerned about?

I am really excited to see how the Cardinals' corners pair up with the Cardinals' top two receivers. Everyone nationally knows about Marvin Harrison Jr., but Michael Wilson has been playing really well. Cornerback Zyon McCollum has really struggled for the Bucs, but getting Jamel Dean back should help, which has me interested to see what they get done against a very underrated receiving duo in Arizona.

Best bet

Do you have a favorite bet for this game?

Rachaad White has an over/under of 28.5 yards for rushing and receiving yards combined that I will be hammering. I think they only use Bucky Irving on a small amount of snaps, and White has always been the dual threat out of the backfield. No bet is ever safe, but this is a fun one to play on for how low the hanging fruit of it is.

Game prediction

Who wins the game and how does it go down?

Despite the return of Baker Mayfield and Bucky Irving for the offense, I still have some questions. I worry they are going to be too safe with their play calls against a Cardinals team with nothing to lose. It will also be the Bucs retiring Simeon Rice's jersey, so legends will be in town, and next week is a divisional game. I think all of those are too many distractions for a bad team to overcome. I think Arizona pulls off the upset on the road by a score of 21-17.

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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Cardinals vs. Buccaneers preview, injuries, fantasy and predictions