Bucs vs Falcons NFL Handicapping
Not many would have expected a Week 7 meeting between the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be between teams with one win combined.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-5) at Atlanta Falcons (1-4)
Date: Sunday, October 20, 2013
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Venue: Georgia Dome
City: Atlanta, Georgia
O/U Odds: 42.5
Spread: Atlanta -7
Money Line: Atlanta -315, Tampa Bay +265
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Neither side thought they’d be where they are at this point in the season, with Atlanta suffering some rare home losses, and Tampa Bay failing to win a game.
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Both sides will also look very different than they did at the start of the year. Atlanta is dealing with a slew of injuries. On the offensive side of the ball, star wide receiver Julio Jones is out for the year, running back Steven Jackson is injured and it appears he’s on track to missing another week, and longtime top receiver Roddy White is hurt and in danger of missing Sunday’s game. Amazingly, the Falcon defense is even more banged up on the other side of the ball, forced to put some young defenders into significant roles.
Tampa’s actually had more of a roller coaster to deal with on their way to an 0-5 start. Head coach Greg Schiano’s quarrel with quarterback Josh Freeman led to the quarterback skipping town, and the keys to the offense were handed over to unproven rookie Mike Glennon. Last week, the team’s game against Philadelphia was in danger of being cancelled due to a staph infection having been spread through the Tampa locker room, the remnants of which are still being felt with players like offensive guard Carl Nicks still in recovery. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Glennon’s best game as a pro came last week when he threw for 273 yards and a pair of scores. Both of those scores went to Vincent Jackson, who was Glennon’s favorite target on the day, bringing in nine balls for 114 yards. Tight end Tim Wright is also beginning to emerge, catching seven balls for 91 yards in against the Eagles. All of that came against a struggling Philadelphia defense, so don’t expect those types of results every week. Even with all of that offense, the team still lost the game, 31-20. The Buccaneers are expected to get wide receiver Mike Williams back though after he was inactive last weekend with a sore hamstring.
Atlanta’s last game was a Monday night loss to the Jets, 30-28, the week before their bye. The Falcons lost a major battle when they failed to score at the goal line on the final play of the first half. Quarterback Matt Ryan was called on to do most of the heavy lifting with the Falcons trailing for the majority of the game, and he completed 36 of 45 passes for 319 yards, connecting with tight end Tony Gonzalez 10 times for 97 yards.
Neither side has had a lot of success offensively this season. With an offense seriously banged up in the skill positions opposing an offense led by a raw rookie quarterback, this game has ‘under’ written all over it.
The under is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these teams.
The play: Under 42.5
