The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will lean on recent history with the hope of closing the gap on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South. The Bucs won the season opener, beating the Falcons 31-24 for a third straight victory over their division rival. Tampa Bay completed the 2015 season sweep by beating the Falcons at home last December. It was the last time Tampa Bay won a regular season home game. Since that contest, the Bucs are 0-5 SU and ATS in their own yard. A matchup with the Falcons in Week 9 could change all that.
This matchup in Week 9 of the regular season will take place on Thursday, November 3, 2016, at 8:25 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Atlanta Falcons -3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3
Over/Under 51.5
Odds Analysis
The Falcons opened as bigger favorites for this game on the road than they did when the teams met in Atlanta in the season opener. Of course we know more about the clubs now, and we know Tampa Bay is awful at home. The Bucs last regular season home win came last year when they knocked off the Falcons. Since that game they are 0-5 SU and ATS at Raymond James. The visitors are getting plenty of play with over 90 percent of the wagers for Atlanta. It’s tough to see the spread increase, but it could given the action. The teams easily played over the 46.5-point total from the first meeting and the Falcons could probably get there by themselves against a porous Bucs defense.
Injury Report
Jacob Tamme – Sustained a shoulder injury and didn’t return to Sunday’s game. With a short turnaround, it’s unlikely we see the Falcon’s starting tight end in the lineup on Thursday. The team’s fourth-leading receiver, Tamme is a nice target when Julio Jones draws double coverage and he provides an option in the red zone with three touchdown catches.
Jacquizz Rodgers – With Doug Martin sidelined and Charles Sims on injured reserve, Rodgers has become the lead back in Tampa’s offense. However, he left Sunday’s game with a foot injury and didn’t return. His loss would be a severe blow to the Bucs run game and put more pressure on Winston to perform in the passing attack.
Matchup to Watch
Dirk Koetter is known more as an offensive-minded coach and was promoted to the Bucs’ head job with the expectation of molding young Jameis Winston into a premier quarterback in the NFL. That’s all fine since the organization used the first overall pick in 2015 to draft Winston. But the defense has stumbled and reached all-time lows in Sunday’s loss to the Raiders. The Bucs surrendered a franchise record 626 yards in the overtime loss and watched Derek Carr complete 49 passes for 513 yards.
Tampa’s defenders offered little resistance in the second half and overtime as the Raiders sliced through them to escape with a victory. It was a tough defeat for the Bucs, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end and still haven’t won a home game this season. Now the Bucs get Matt Ryan, and the No. 1 ranked offense is looking forward to this matchup. The Falcons have used their diverse attack to amass an average of better than 433 yards per game and Julio Jones has Atlanta as the second-ranked pass offense. The Falcons have a chance to increase their division lead against a fragile defense that is struggling to find answers.
Free ATS Pick
This isn’t the Falcons team from last year and they proved that with a win over the Packers on Sunday. Riding a two-game losing streak in games that could’ve gone either way, the Falcons put to rest any ideas that another meltdown was going to take place. Now, Atlanta needs to beat Tampa Bay, something they’ve been unable to do in the past three meetings. The Falcons have vastly improved their defense and with the Bucs lacking a ground game, look for Vic Beasley to be turned loose on Winston.
The Bucs were riddled by the Raiders in a pathetic display of defense and got what they deserved in an overtime loss. That effort, or lack of, wasn’t all that surprising. The Bucs had a few games masked by lesser opponents. There was a win over Carolina without Cam Newton and beating the Niners is nothing special. Tampa’s win over Atlanta in Week 1 was special, but look for the Falcons to gain some revenge in a critical division matchup. Atlanta has a chance to increase its lead in the NFC South and won’t be denied that opportunity.
NFL Odds: Falcons 33, Buccaneers 24
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
