The Cincinnati Bengals will travel to Central Florida to battle the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. It's time to continue our NFL odds series with a Bengals-Buccaneers prediction and pick.
The Bengals defeated the Browns 23-10 last weekend. Joe Burrow completed 18 of 33 passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Moreover, Joe Mixon rushed 14 times for 96 yards while Samaje Perine added four rushes for 22 yards and a touchdown. Ja'Marr Chase caught 10 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, while Trenton Irwin had two receptions for 58 yards and a score. Meanwhile, Jessie Bates III had an interception, and Sam Hubbard had four tackles and a sack on defense.
The Buccaneers faced a throttling last weekend, falling 35-7 to the San Francisco 49ers. Tom Brady completed 34 of 55 passes for 253 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Likewise, Rachaad White rushed 13 times for 56 yards. Leonard Fournette added four rushes for 13 yards, while catching six passes for 33 yards. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both failed to gain a rapport with Brady. Significantly, Evans had four receptions on nine targets for 44 yards, while Godwin had five catches on nine targets for 54 yards. Julio Jones caught five of eight targets for 38 yards. Unfortunately, the defense could not solve the San Francisco offense and did not register a sack. Logan White had eight solo tackles to lead the Bucs.
The Bucs lead the all-time series 7-5. However, the Bengals have won the previous two in this series. The last four games have all gone down to the wire, with the winner winning by three or fewer points in each contest.
The Bengals are one of the hottest teams in the NFL right now, with five wins in a row. Conversely, the Bucs have muddled in mediocrity, going 1-2 over their past two. The Bengals are 4-3 on the road this season, and the Bucs are 4-3 at home, with losses to AFC powerhouses such as the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
Here are the Bengals-Buccaneers NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Bengals-Buccaneers Odds
Cincinnati Bengals: -3.5 (-110)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +3.5 (-110)
Over: 44.5 (-110)
Under: 44.5 (-110)
Why The Bengals Could Cover The Spread
The Bengals are 9-2 since their 0-2 start. Substantially, they have bounced back in a major way and did it without Chase for a few weeks. Burrow has a 68.1 percent completion rate with a 102.4 quarterback rating. Likewise, he has passed for 3685 yards, 27 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Mixon has rushed 172 times for 701 yards and six touchdowns while generating 4.1 yards per carry. Likewise, Perine has 78 carries for 324 yards and two scores while generating 4.5 yards per carry.
Tee Higgins did not play for most of last weekend's game. Conversely, he still leads the Bengals with 60 receptions for 861 yards and five touchdowns. Chase has caught 64 passes for 821 yards and seven touchdowns. Also, Tyler Boyd has 45 catches for 655 yards and four touchdowns.
The defense has excelled, lifting the Bengals often. Significantly, Logan Wilson has 63 solo tackles with one interception. Vonn Bell has 47 solo tackles with one sack and four interceptions. Lastly, Bates has 31 solo tackles and three picks.
The Bengals will cover the spread if they can replicate the gameplan the 49ers enacted last weekend. Therefore, they must pressure Brady and force him into bad throws and prevent the Bucs from establishing a running game. The Bengals also must move the ball efficiently to avoid the vaunted Tampa pass rush.
Why The Buccaneers Could Cover The Spread
The Bucs are struggling. Ultimately, had they not rallied twice over the last month, they would be 4-9 instead of 6-7. Brady has completed 65.8 percent of his passes while generating an 88.9 quarterback rating. Likewise, he has also passed for 3585 yards, 17 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Fournette has rushed 149 times for 524 yards, three touchdowns, and a 3.5 yards-per-carry rate. Additionally, he has 55 receptions for 380 yards and three scores. White has rushed 96 times for 370 yards and one score while generating a 3.9 yards-per-carry rate. Substantially, he has also caught 40 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown.
Evans has 59 receptions for 805 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Godwin has 73 receptions for 702 yards and two scores. The Bucs have not been able to consistently get these two involved, and likely miss the prescience of Rob Gronkowski, who retired last year.
The defense has persevered, despite numerous injuries. Ultimately, Lavonte David has 60 solo tackles and two sacks. Carlton Davis III has 43 solo tackles but has not intercepted a pass this year. Meanwhile, Devin White has 62 solo tackles and 5.5 sacks. Vita Vea has 15 solo tackles and 6.5 sacks but will not play this Sunday.
The Bucs will cover the spread if Brady can check down the ball to his running backs to open up the field for later. Consequently, the Bucs thrive when they do this and did not have the chance to do it last weekend.
Final Bengals-Buccaneers Prediction & Pick
The Bengals are the better team. However, it is difficult to pick against Brady. The Bucs are due to break out of their slump and will look to put last weekend's terrible performance behind them.
Final Bengals-Buccaneers Prediction & Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +3.5 (-110)
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