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Edgar Chaput
Buccaneers vs. Falcons Point Spread: NFL Week 14 Odds, Prediction
The NFC South has become one of those notorious groups of NFL clubs in which the fight for the title will go down to the wire, only that the rivals involved can’t measure up to the cream of the crop from around the league. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 5-7 and the Atlanta Falcons are 6-6 and now face off in an important showdown that may speak volumes as to which of the two makes the playoffs. Tampa just defeated the Panthers 21-18 and the Falcons handled the Jets 13-8.
This is expected to be a tight battle, with the Falcons perched, if slightly, as -2.5 favourites on the NFL odds.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Week 14 concludes the 2023 duo of contests pitting these long-standing rivals against each other. Atlanta took the first one back in October in Florida, 16-13, a game few recall vividly because it wasn’t very exciting. That gave the Falcons a two-game winning streak over the Bucs, who had rattled off five wins in a row before that. But of course that was a completely different era of Tampa Bay football with Tom Brady.
Neither club is lighting it up this season on offence. Tampa Bay is the third-worst rushing team in the league (85.2 yards a game), thus putting a lot of pressure on QB Baker Mayfield, who has never truly lived up to the potential of the magical 2020 season in Cleveland. Case in point, Tampa is only 19th in passing yards per game with 220.4. No surprise, therefore, that the over is only 4-8. Things are better against the spread with a 7-5 record, but they’ve failed to cover twice in a row.
Atlanta is a case of an imbalanced attack. For a squad few people talk about, they’re sixth in the NFL in rushing yards per game, tallying 135.2. This will make for a good matchup against a Bucs defence that limits its opponents to only 99 yards per tilt. On the flip side, Atlanta doesn’t even gain 200 yards through the air a week, capping at 193.4. Whether considering the spread or the over, neither is a good idea in the Falcons’ case as both sit at 4-8.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Week 13 match at home to the sleepwalking Carolina Panthers was a microcosm of what this year’s Buccaneers squad is like. They won the game 21-18, but it should have been easier than it ended up being, suggesting that even if this club makes the playoffs, there is a chance that they’ll be cannon fodder for whoever gets to play them in the Wild Card round.
Without question, the play of the day was Mike Evans’ 75-yard touchdown, capped off with a dive to the endzone cone. Evans, by the way, has earned his 10th consecutive season with at least 1,000 yards receiving. Chris Godwin, typically a WR, played RB on a key fourth-quarter play from 19 yards out to score and put the game mostly out of reach for the Panthers. Baker Mayfield finished 14-for-29, 202 yards, one TD and one INT. A very Baker Mayfield scoreline if there ever was one.
Atlanta Falcons
In another relatively forgettable Week 13 contest, the Atlanta Falcons were in New Jersey to play the Jets. On the one hand was a Jets team equipped with a commendable defence but no offence. On the other was a Falcons ensemble without the sort of offence that could compete with a good defence.
What resulted was a 13-8 Atlanta win in which mistakes were made, bad passes were thrown (by both teams), and the defensive units on both squads looked good by default. Consider that the Jets, who have had trouble throwing all year, finished with 197 yards through the air and Atlanta only 104. Desmond Ridder was an utterly forgettable 12-for-27 and 121 yards. His big play came in the second quarter when TE MyCole Pruitt dove for a 20-yard TD score in the end zone.
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