The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Kansas City Chiefs for Sunday Night Football! It's time to continue our NFL odds series with a Chiefs-Buccaneers prediction and pick.
Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes. It doesn't get much better than that from a quarterback standpoint. It will be exciting to watch these two go back and forth in what could be a potential Super Bowl preview and rematch.
The Chiefs are coming off of a bad loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Nothing went right for them as they left Indiana with their first loss of the season. At (2-1), KC is still atop the AFC West Division as the offense looks to get back on track. The Buccaneers are also (2-1) on the year and are coming off of a bad loss as well. They fell to the Green Bay Packers 14-12 last week in a game where both defenses stepped up. Both Mahomes and Brady need to find a way to get their offenses going again.
Here are the Chiefs-Buccaneers NFL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NFL Odds: Chiefs-Buccaneers Odds
Kansas City Chiefs: +1 (-110); ML (-102)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -1 (-110); ML (-116)
Over: 45.5 (-118)
Under: 45.5 (-104)
Why The Chiefs Could Cover The Spread
KC comes into this game as the underdogs on the road. This game is tough to decipher as both teams are coming off of a bad loss. Mahomes and the Chiefs offense had an interesting game plan against the Colts. The passing game wasn't working yet they continued to try and make it work. Mahomes and offensive coordinator Eric Beiniemy didn't agree on the conservative style at the end of the first half. It turned out that they still couldn't get things going in the second half. As a result, the Colts took advantage of a dumb taunting penalty and went down and scored the winning touchdown late in the game. The Bucs' defense is elite, so the Chiefs must find a way to utilize the run game as well. Tampa Bay is averaging just nine points per game.
Facing Tom Brady will never be easy, even if he is 45 years old. He struggled against the Packers but with Mike Evans back and Chris Godwin and Julio Jones expected to be a game-time decision, the Bucs have a chance to catch fire again. The Chiefs' secondary needs to be all over Evans. If they don't let Evans beat them then Brady might struggle. That doesn't mean they won't utilize Leonard Fournette against a defense that allows 93 rush yards a game. Lenny has carried the ball 57 times for 227 yards. He has yet to get a rushing touchdown so expect them to try and use him in the Red Zone.
Why The Buccaneers Could Cover The Spread
Tampa Bay is the favorite at home. The offense needs to take advantage of a defense allowing 21 points per game. Averaging just 17 points per game, Brady and the offense have yet to really get going. They have battled injuries but so has just about every other team. With Evans back, I expect there to be more balance. His presence will allow the rest of the receivers to shine. If Godwin and Jones do play, then Brady will have three weapons that are capable of changing a game. Brady has a chance to score multiple touchdowns against this secondary that hasn't proven they can be consistent. The more they control the time of possession as well the less Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense is on the field.
Containing Mahomes is not easy. The Bucs need to watch film on the game against the Colts because somehow Indianapolis found a way to not allow the Colts to reach the endzone. Mahomes threw his first interception of the season in the loss and was somehow also the team's leading rusher. That is a great sign for this Bucs' defense as they know they can drop more guys into coverage and not worry about the run game beating them.
Final Chiefs-Buccaneers Prediction & Pick
This is a tricky game to pick. Because it's just a one-point spread, depending on the team you want it might benefit you to take the Moneyline. This game will be close, and if you are going to take Tampa Bay to win by one you might as well take the ML to avoid a push. If you want the Chiefs, then taking a point on the road makes the most sense.
Mahomes or Brady will have the ball late in this game and it's likely that whoever has the ball will find a way to win the game. With that said, this might be the time when Mahomes takes the reigns from Brady. Take the Chiefs to cover this spread on the road as they advance to (3-1).
Final Chiefs-Buccaneers Prediction & Pick: Kansas City Chiefs +1 (-110)
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