Tonight is an important game for the New England Patriots.
The defending Super Bowl champions are 2-2 and facing extreme -- and deserved -- scrutiny for a defense that has been historically bad through four weeks. Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia have a major fix-it job on their hands, making a short week and Thursday Night Football matchup against the feisty Buccaneers a less than optimal situation.
Unrelated to New England's defensive struggles is this fun little "nug" dug up by the good folks of the NFL Media Research team: Tampa is the only NFL city where Belichick has never won a game. In fact, Belichick has never even been involved in a game played in Tampa in 23 seasons as a head coach with the Browns (1991-95) and Patriots (2000-present). Kind of weird, no?
The Hooded One does have a road victory against the Bucs, though it's more of a technicality. Back in Week 7 of the 2009 season, the Pats won a Bucs "home" tilt played in London. Use this knowledge against friends in NFL trivia.
Anyway, if Belichick wins tonight he'll have a victory in every NFL city. You get the feeling this will be the achievement that finally gets him over the hump with Hall of Fame voters.