With a win Sunday in Week 17 against the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would finish the season 8-8, something that seemed impossible just a month ago when they were 3-7.
The Buccaneers entered 2019 having gone 5-11 the past two seasons, and after that slow start, it seemed like another 5-11 season was in the books. But, this team has turned it around over the past month, winning four-straight games prior to Saturday’s loss to the Houston Texans.
In that game, Tampa Bay was without their top two receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, so quarterback Jameis Winston, who is nursing a fractured thumb, had to rely on a cast of inexperienced receivers. The results were what you’d expect as the Bucs quarterback threw four interceptions, including another pick-six.
Despite the loss, however, and absence of playmakers, the Bucs opened as -1.5 point favorites at home against the 6-9 Falcons. Tampa Bay kicked off their four-game winning-streak by beating Atlanta on the road back in Week 12.
While the Bucs have been a hard team to bet this year against the spread, I’d feel good about their chances in this game. Winston is going for history Sunday, and finishing 8-8 would do wonders for this team’s confidence heading into the offseason.
Atlanta, meanwhile, will have to deal with the potential firing of head coach Dan Quinn following Sunday’s game, so big changes could be ahead for this Falcons team. A win over the Bucs likely won’t affect Quinn’s future one way or the other, so I feel Tampa Bay has more to gain from this game.
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