Falcons vs. Buccaneers Point Spread: NFL Week 8 Odds, Prediction
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Edgar Chaput
The Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had chances to enter this week as 5-2 opponents, which would have made this game look even better. Unfortunately, each was schooled at home by opponents who either caught fire or were simply better. The Falcons fell easily to the Seattle Seahawks, 34-14. Meanwhile, the Bucs were mostly walloped by the Ravens in a game that finished with a forgiving 41-31 score.
As it stands, our NFL odds give the edge to the visiting Falcons, who are -2.5 favourites.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Odd that the NFL saw fit to conclude their season series so early in the campaign. The first meeting was only a few weeks ago on a memorable Thursday night contest that ended 36-30 for Atlanta in overtime. Tampa Bay seemed to have their rivals where they wanted them late in the fourth yet couldn’t kill the clock, which left the door ajar for a Falcons comeback.
The Buccaneers dominated matchups until recently, but having Tom Brady as their gunslinger for a trio of seasons helped. Atlanta only started winning again in Week 18 of the 2022 season, a game for which Brady hardly played. All that said, the Falcons hold a recent 3-1 edge.
The Falcons’ 4-3 straight-up record is flipped in the spread column at 3-4. The blemish – apart from the actual defeats – was the 26-24 win over the Saints when they were favoured by -2.5. A big issue hurting the Falcons this season is an inability to make good on solid drives. They rake up 370.7 yards per game (seventh-best) but only score 23.3 (15th). Kirk Cousins is fourth in the NFL with 1,830 yards, but he’s also tossed seven picks.
The story of Tampa Bay’s ATS record is straightforward. They’ve covered the spread every time they won the game and failed the three times they’ve lost. The issue coming out of Tampa this week is the injuries to receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Evans hurt his hamstring on Monday and Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle. Ouch. Neither is playing this week.
Atlanta Falcons
Games like the 34-14 loss at home to the Seahawks in Week 7 are why one must always tread carefully with the Falcons. The quintessential “almost” team. Sometimes good, almost never great.
A 5-2 record was there for the taking, especially since Seattle came into the contest reeling with two straight defeats. Apart from RB Bijan Robinson proving how good he can be (103 yards, one TD, plenty of missed tackles), this was a deflating performance.
Atlanta outgained Seattle 369 to 339, but two picks by Cousins and a strip sack that went to the house for the Seahawks took the air out of the building. Kyle Pitts and Drake London were fine when the ball went their way (London had a touchdown on a fourth-and-goal), but there was very little special about the offence.
Defensively, the Falcons were lackadaisical, with horrible coverage just before halftime in a 10-7 game that led to a Seattle TD and a 17-7 lead at the break. A series of mistakes made a winnable game turn into a 20-point home loss.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Not that the Buccaneers were much better on Monday night at home to the Baltimore Ravens. The final score reads 41-31, but there were some late scoring drives for the hosts when everyone knew the outcome was set in stone.
Of course, missing Mike Evans for a huge chunk of the contest didn’t help (Godwin’s injury came much later). Tampa Bay’s semi-comeback in the fourth quarter skews Baker Mayfield’s 31-for-45, 370-yard, 3-TD night. He also threw two picks, including one in the end zone. Likewise for RB Rachaad White, who caught a pair of touchdown passes late and finished second on the team in receiving yards (70).
Baltimore munched on Tampa Bay’s defence for 508 yards. They didn’t seem to know who to cover or how, not to mention allowed Derrick Henry to barrel his way to 169 yards.
ATL
TB