Buccaneers vs Jaguars Week 14 Gambling Preview
The Bucs (4-8) have lost 6 straight and in that span their defense has really struggled giving up an average of almost 31 ppg.
Venue/ Stadium: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Time/Date: 1 PM EST Sunday, December 11, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline.com
Moneyline: OFF
Spread (ATS): Bucs -2
Over/Under: 39
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Preview
The Jags have lost 3 straight and while Tampa Bay has had their issues on defense Jacksonville has the league’s lowest rated offense and their pass offense also ranks dead last in the league. NFL lines have the Bucs as 2-point away favorites in this game with a total of 39.
Last Sunday Tampa Bay lost to the Carolina Panthers 38-17 and Jacksonville lost to the San Diego Chargers 38-14 on Monday night.
Bucs’ QB Josh Freeman has an injured shoulder and may miss this game. He has not been playing well lately and in his last 3 games he only has 4 TD and 6 INT. If he cannot go Josh Johnson will get the start and he is 0-5 in his 5 career games as a starter. WR Mike Williams and TE Kellen Winslow are the 2 main receiving options for the Bucs and while the Jags have a solid pass defense ranking 4th in the league they gave up nearly 300 passing yards to the Chargers last Monday night.
Tampa Bay RB LeGarrette Blount only had 19 yards on 11 carries against the Panthers after topping 100 yards in his previous 2 games and he will be facing a Jags’ run defense that ranks 14th in the league. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Jags’ rookie Blaine Gabbert has gotten better as the season has progressed and in his last 4 games he is completing almost 55% of his passes and in the loss to the Chargers on Monday night he had his first career 2 TD game. He may put up another solid game facing a Tampa pass defense that ranks 27th in the league.
The main concern for the Tampa Bay defense in this game has to be Jags’ RB Maurice Jones-Drew, who leads the league in rushing yards. He is averaging a solid 4.5 yards per carry on the season and has 5 TD and the Bucs’ run defense only ranks 29th in the league and in the loss to Carolina, at home no less, they gave up 163 rushing yards.
The Jags have won 3 straight facing the Bucs.
Betting Trends
On the season the Bucs are 4-8 ATS and have an O/U record of 7-5 and the Jags are 4-7-1 ATS and they have an O/U record of 2-10.
The Bucs are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games, 11-3-1 ATS in their last 15 road games, and they have an Over record of 5-1 in their last 6 games as a road favorite.
The Jags are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against teams with a losing record, and they have an Under record of 5-2 in their last 7 home games.
Jason’s Pick: I have to go with the Jags in this game, especially since Freeman is a big question mark, as Jones-Drew will have a big game and carry Jacksonville to a win. Take the Under in this game, as there will not be many points scored since each team does not have a good offense.
