Patriots vs. Buccaneers On Thursday Night Football: How To Watch, Kickoff Time, And More

The New England Patriots will pay a visit to Tampa Bay Thursday night to play the Buccaneers. The game will be the team's second Thursday Night Football 2017 after opening the season at home against Kansas City.

Besides Thanksgiving when the Patriots traveled to play on the road in 2000, 2002, 2010 and 2012, the Patriots have not played a road game on a Thursday since Oct. 18, 1990 at Miami.

Tampa Bay is one of seven teams that QB Tom Brady is undefeated against. The others are: Atlanta (4-0), Chicago (4-0), Dallas (4-0), Detroit (4-0), Jacksonville (5-0) and Minnesota (4-0). Brady will play his first regular season game ever at Raymond James Stadium. The Patriots finished a perfect 8-0 on the road in 2016 and extended their road record to an NFL-best nine straight with a road win at New Orleans on Sept. 17.

Here what you need to know about Thursday night's game:

Kickoff Time

Thursday Night Football starts at 8:25 p.m.

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen on WBZ-TV Channel 4, NFL Network, and Amazon. Jim Nantz will handle play-by-play duties with Tony Romo as the color analyst. Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Jim Rikhof and directed by Mike Arnold.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week’s game will be broadcast to a national audience on Westwood One. Ian Eagle and Tony Boselli will call the game.

RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello.

Series History

The Patriots and Buccaneers will meet in a regular season game for the ninth time overall and for the first time since the 2013 season when New England beat Tampa Bay, 23-3, on Sept. 22, 2013 at Gillette Stadium.

It will be the Patriots first-ever game played at Raymond James Stadium. In 2009, the Patriots played Tampa Bay on the road, a game the Patriots won 35-7 on Oct. 25, 2009 at Wembley Stadium in London. The last time the Patriots played a road game in Tampa was on Nov. 16, 2007 at Houlihan’s Stadium.
The Patriots have visited Raymond James Stadium six times in the preseason.

The Patriots are 6-2 against the Buccaneers all-time in the regular-season. Head coach Bill Belichick’s first game as head coach of the Patriots came against Tampa Bay on Sept. 3, 2000. Tampa Bay claimed a 21-16 victory in that game, but the Patriots have won six of the eight total games in the regular season series, which dates back to 1976, the first year of existence for the Buccaneers franchise. New England won the first three games in the series from 1976-88. Tampa Bay claimed the next two meetings, before a Patriots 28-0 shutout victory in a meeting between the two teams in 2005 got the Patriots back on the winning side.

The Patriots beat the Buccaneers in 1988 and then went 17 years before their next win against the Buccaneers in 2005. The 17-year victory gap is the second longest for the Patriots, trailing only a 33-year win drought against the Washington Redskins, which lasted from 1973-2006.

The Betting Line
Here's what the odds makers have to say about Sunday night's game via ESPN.com:

• Westgate - New England by 5.5 points
• Caesar's - New England by 5.5 points
• William Hill - New England by 5.5 points
• Wynn - New England by 5.5 points
• CG Technology - New England by 5.5 points
• Unibet - New England by 4.5 points

Image Credit: Steven Senne/AP Images