Buccaneers vs. Falcons Prediction and Odds for Week 18 (Brady, Bucs Get a Bye Week)
By Josh Yourish
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally did it. They finally won the NFC South title and looked like a Tom Brady-led offense.
Tampa Bay came to life with a 20-point fourth quarter to beat the Carolina Panthers, 30-24. Now, the Bucs are locked into the No. 4 seed in the NFC at 8-8 and have nothing to play for in Week 18, Tom Brady can enjoy the life of a 45-year-old multi-millionaire and the rest of the team can get healthy for a playoff run. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons beat David Bough and the Arizona Cardinals 20-19 in Week 17 to get to 6-10 in a game so irrelevant I’m not even sure they put it on TV.
Let’s take a look at the odds for this one, because they might not be what you expect.
Buccaneers vs. Falcons Odds, Spread and Total
Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay Betting Trends
- Atlanta is 8-8 ATS
- Tampa Bay is 4-11-1 ATS
- The Under is 10-6 in Atlanta games
- The Under is 11-5 in Tampa Bay games
Buccaneers vs. Falcons Prediction and Pick
Vegas knows that Tampa isn’t going to play their starters and the game is entirely meaningless for them, but it’s not like it means a whole lot for Atlanta either. I’m sure the Falcons would much rather have a top 10 pick in the draft than fall out with another win.
Rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder has been okay, but he hasn’t shown anything that makes you think he’ll be the franchise savior, so the draft pick is even more important if Arthur Smith wants to get aggressive and find his next quarterback.
Mike Evans and Tom Brady finally connected for a massive game that was much needed. Evans finished with 10 catches for 207 yards and three touchdowns, but that connection probably won’t be on the field against Atlanta. Maybe it’ll be Blaine Gabbert to Russell Gage Jr. or Kyle Trask to Scotty Miller for the Bucs this week. There’s just too much up in the air about this one and frankly I don’t even trust Atlanta to beat the Bucs backups. I wouldn’t touch this game with a 10-foot pole, at least not this early in the week.
Check back here on Thursday or Friday and we’ll have much more clarity, but for now give the under a look or don’t bet it at all.
Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change