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Edgar Chaput
Buccaneers vs. Falcons Point Spread: NFL Week 18 Odds, Prediction
Tampa Bay earned the NFC South crown with last week’s victory over the Panthers. Furthermore, they are locked into fourth place in the conference. As for Atlanta, they look to build off last week’s win and head into the offseason with some pride restored.
The football savants deem Arthur Smith’s Falcons as -4.5 favourites on the NFL odds. The O/U is 40.5.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Since Tom Brady’s arrival in Tampa, results have favoured the Buccaneers when confronting the Falcons. The Bucs have claimed all five meetings since TB12’s move from Foxborough. The latest came earlier this season, a contest Tampa Bay took 21-15 and was mired in controversy for a late roughing the passer call that seemed to protect Brady more than some felt was necessary.
Todd Bowles’s unit enters this Week 18 tilt as defending divisional champions, although it was a laborious, taxing journey to earn it. To that effect, Tampa Bay has done quite poorly against the spread this season even though they’re the best of the southern bunch. A 4-11-1 record will not inspire confidence in bettors no matter how often Brady displays late-game heroics.
For their part, the Falcons are 8-8 ATS. Given how miserable their season has been at times, that’s not really a bad showing. The record belies a poor finish to the campaign, as they failed to cover four of their past five opportunities. Even last week’s last-second victory was insufficient given their -6.5 status as favourites.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pop the champagne, Buccaneers. You’re the AFC South winners. In truth, Brady himself probably wants nothing to do with any celebrations until their side attains Super Bowl glory, especially given that even a victory over Atlanta would only earn them a 9-8 tally.
The deed was done when the Panthers came to town. Carolina themselves still held on to fading hopes of claiming the top spot. To their credit, they announced their intentions with purpose and poise in the early goings, racing to 14-0 and 21-10 advantages. But Sam Darnold would not get the better of the Bucs. For the first time in what felt like forever, Tampa Bay’s air attack looked genuinely threatening. Brady connected with wide receiver Mike Evans for three TDs, none of which went for less than 3o yards. By golly, with the 30-24 victory they looked like the 2020 and 2021 Bucs. It remains to be seen if that carries over into the playoffs.
Atlanta Falcons
Positives must be taken from all victories, however dire the late-season situation is. To that effect, the Falcons took care of business with the help of kicker Younghoe Koo’s 21-yard effort that split the uprights as time expired. Atlanta gave the home fans something to cheer about with a 20-19 win…at least those fans that showed up.
It was one of the sleepier contests of Week 17, not the least of which because it involved clubs whose playoff aspirations were long expired. Falcons QB Desmond Ridder is a work in progress and finding his way to success. Arizona started relative unknown David Blough. Despite the win, Ridder ended up stacking fewer yards than his counterpart (169 to 222). The big play was courtesy of Atlanta’s special teams who boldly blocked a punt deep in Cardinals territory late in the second quarter. It granted the offence a preciously short field and Cordarrelle Patterson punched in a major score from 5 yards out.
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