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Jeremy Perry
Buccaneers vs. Texans Point Spread: NFL Preseason Week 3 Odds, Prediction
The 2021 regular season is rapidly approaching as we enter the final week of the preseason. In this contest, we get to see the matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Houston Texans as they both prepare for their season opener. The Buccaneers haven’t been great through this preseason as they sit at 0-2 heading into this matchup. They were walloped 34-3 by the Tennessee Titans last weekend.
The Texans are entering this game 2-0, the complete opposite. They easily got past the Green Bay Packers 26-7 before narrowly escaping with a 20-14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. It looks like the Texans have the better interest in these preseason games, so keep that in mind.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Bruce Arians has spent a lot of time coaching in the preseason, which has led to him having a 12-15 overall record. He was 3-1 in his last four games before this season, dropping the past two. Arians is also just 3-3 when it comes to the third week of the preseason. Not great but certainly better than the 2-5 record he holds in his past seven matchups in the second week of the preseason.
On the other hand, this is David Culley’s first time being the head coach in the preseason. He has jumped out to a terrific 2-0 start despite many believing that he is in control of the worst overall team in the league right now. It seems he has full respect from this organization.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers have no reason to panic right now as the majority of their starters haven’t played during their two-game, preseason losing streak. It will be rare to see any of the veterans once again here despite it being the final exhibition match for them. We should be getting a lot of Kyle Trask, Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin in this game as they battle for the backup quarterback spot. Tampa really wants to see what they have in their rookie quarterback Trask with his first game being mediocre and his second going poorly. He threw for 131 yards and two interceptions against the Titans.
There should also be an increased emphasis on the ground game in this contest. The Buccaneers only managed 1.1 average yards per carry against Tennessee and totaled just 17 rushing yards through a couple of different backs.
Houston Texans
There is little to no possibility that we see Deshaun Watson hit the field in this game. That leaves us with Tyrod Taylor, Jeff Driskel and Davis Mills to split the quarterback reps up. Mills was the guy that the franchise is most excited about and he has delivered on that excitement with some promising showings. He threw for 115 yards and only threw six incompletions in their win over Dallas. The team also has a couple of quality running backs that they want to get the most out of. Mark Ingram, David Johnson, Philip Lindsay and Rex Burkhead should all see time on the field throughout the contest. They’ve been carrying the mail in the preseason.
TB
HOU