The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked into Atlanta yesterday for their game against the Falcons in desperate need of a win. Not only that, but the Bucs were going up against arguably the hottest team in the NFL.
Atlanta started the season just 1-7, but in their previous two games heading into Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay, they had gone 2-0, outscoring their opponents 55-12, while their defense collected 11.0 sacks and four interceptions in that time.
But Tampa Bay played solid football on both sides of the ball yesterday, upsetting Atlanta 35-22. The Bucs are now 4-7, with three of their wins coming on the road. They’ll play on the road, but in-state, next week when they travel to Jacksonville to face the 4-7 Jaguars.
Jacksonville is coming off a humiliating 42-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and are still looking for their first win with quarterback Nick Foles under center.
Given how well the Bucs played on the road against Atlanta, coupled with the short travel distance between Tampa and Jacksonville, you’d think the Bucs would finally find themselves as a favorite on the road this year.
Well, not quite yet.
The opening line for the Bucs-Jags game has Jacksonville as -1.5 point favorites at home. The over/under is set at 49.5. I think this game will be a shootout between offenses, so I’d go with the over. And, for once, I’d actually be confident taking the Bucs on the road.
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