Tampa Bay begins their quest for a second straight Super Bowl Championship in Sunday’s NFC wild card Eagles at Buccaneers betting matchup. Tom Brady and company do have the edge of being at home where they were 7-1 on the season, but are also down a few targets in the offense with Chris Godwin out for the year and Antonio Brown leaving the team.
The Bucs also have a huge experience advantage with Eagles coach Nick Sirianni getting his first taste of playoff action and QB Jalen Hurts making his postseason debut as well. Philadelphia has the #1 rush offense in the NFL (159.7) which you’d think would travel well, but the Eagles are still +7 point underdogs, a number that is down from a +9.5 open.
Inexperience to Catch Up with Eagles?
Jalen Hurts has been in plenty of big games playing college at Alabama and then Oklahoma, but the NFL playoffs are a different animal. The Eagles had a four game win streak going heading into the regular season finale, but Sirianni decided to rest his starters in what ended up being a 51-26 Cowboys win. Will killing that momentum prove costly?
Hurts only threw one INT over his last three starts of the season, and not turning the ball over is going to be key in the NFC wild card Eagles at Buccaneers betting matchup. Hurts ended up throwing for 16 TDs and running for another 10 so he can find the end zone, the only problem is that Tom Brady can too with 43 TD passes on the year.
Hurts may get some reinforcements with RB Miles Sanders expected back after missing two games with a hand injury. The Eagles running the ball with anybody besides Hurts was an afterthought for a majority of the season, but once Sanders started getting some work he responded with 120, 131, and then 45 yards on just 7 carries before suffering that broken hand in week 16. You need any help you can get against Tampa’s #3 rush defense.
Same Old Situation for Brady
Tampa Bay finished the regular season strong with three straight wins, but those also came against Carolina (2) and the Jets. This is still a Buccaneers team that was shut out 9-0 by New Orleans at home in week 15 and are now without Godwin, Brown, and also Leonard Fournette who is inactive with a hamstring injury.
Of course it’s not about who is out for Tampa Bay’s offense, it’s about who is in and that includes Tom Brady. Brady has 34 career playoff wins – Philadelphia’s Hurts has 19 total career starts. The Eagles have a top 10 defense, but the Bucs also still have Rob Gronkowski who has 7+ catches and 115+ yards the last two weeks and Mike Evans who has 3 TD grabs the last two games.
Free NFC Wild Card Eagles at Buccaneers Betting Pick
There are no worries about the Tampa Bay offense even with their absences, the defense on the other hand does have some concerns. Lavonte David (foot), Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder) and Shaq Barrett will all likely play but at way less than 100%. They’re facing an Eagles team that is going to be relentless in running the ball meaning Brady may have to survive a shootout in this one.
Buccaneers 34 – Eagles 31
Free Pick: Over 47
