In what has been one of the most bizarre NFL seasons in history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in for a little more strangeness as they kick off their quest for a Super Bowl title Saturday in Washington. The Bucs (11-5 SU, 9-7 ATS) are favored by more than a touchdown despite playing on the road against a Washington team that won the NFC East title with a losing record (7-9 SU, 8-7-1 ATS).
- Date/Time: January 9, 8:15 p.m. ET
- Stadium: FedExField
- TV Coverage: NBC
- Sportsbook Odds: Buccaneers -7.5 | O/U 46.5 (Line History)
- Buccaneers vs Washington Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Bucs kicked off the betting as 7.5-point favorites, but that line has stretched to between -8 and -9 depending on where you play. The total of 46.5 has risen by a point at the majority of sportsbooks.
Tampa Bay News & Notes
It wasn’t always a smooth ride, but the Buccaneers wound up doing what most expected they would and racked up 11 wins to comfortably reach the postseason for the first time since 2007. And Tampa Bay appears to have caught fire at the perfect time, riding a four-game winning streak into the weekend with three of those victories coming by double digits.
So surely there must be plenty of daily fantasy value on a team that averaged better than 30 points per game, yes? Don’t be so sure. Washington has limited opponents to 20 or fewer points in seven consecutive games and boasts the league’s No. 2 passing defense at just 191.8 yards against per game. Tampa Bay players are generally priced up in DFS and are worth a fade.
Washington News & Notes
Washington shocked the world by capturing the NFC East title in what can only be characterized as one of the worst showings by a single division in the history of the league. Still, the team is full value for its postseason berth after finishing with victories in five of its final seven regular-season games, with four of those wins coming away from FedExField.
The major dilemma this weekend: scoring enough points to remain competitive. Washington finished the 2020 season ranked 25th in passing yardage (216.6) and 26th in rushing (100.7) – and you can expect standout running back Antonio Gibson to have all sorts of problems against a Tampa Bay run defense that allowed a league-low 80.6 yards per game.
Betting Pick: UNDER 47.5 (-110)
Washington’s underrated defense is the sole reason the team has made it this far – and while the hosts aren’t in a great position to win, they should make this one a low-scoring affair.
- The Buccaneers are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as road favorites.
- Washington is 4-16 SU in its last 20 games at home.
- The UNDER is 7-1 in Washington’s last 8 games as a playoff underdog.
