NFL Win Totals Betting Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Against all odds, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have become the team to watch in 2020. Following a 7-9 season, the Bucs signed QB Tom Brady to lead this team to the playoffs for the first time since 2007. They will also try to make the Super Bowl and become the first team to play it on their home field.
Currently, Scoresandstats have the new-look Buccaneers at an Over/Under win total of 10 games. We’ll look closer into their offseason and the roster they have at hand, as well as who lies ahead on their schedule, before giving our official pick.
Offseason Summary
There is no bigger acquisition perhaps in all of football than Brady joining Tampa Bay. This is the first time he’ll wear another uniform after spending 20 season with the Patriots and winning six Super Bowls. Now, not only will the future Hall-of-Famer have superstar WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to throw to, but also his old sidekick TE Rob Gronkowski, who the Bucs traded for after he retired for a season. In addition to Brady and Gronk, they made sure to bring back some of their important pieces on defense, placing the franchise tag on LB Shaquil Barrett and resigning EDGE Jason Pierre-Paul and DT Ndamukong Suh to one-year deals.
The Bucs did encounter some losses in free agency, mainly QB Jameis Winston. With the arrival of Brady, Tampa Bay let their former first overall pick walk, as he would eventually sign a one-year deal with the Saints. They also lost DE Carl Nassib to the Raiders and DT Beau Allen to the Patriots, each of who, signing multi-year agreements. WR Breshad Perriman also bolted for the Jets while RB Peyton Barber signed a two-year pact with the Redskins.
Tampa Bay’s priority for the draft was to get someone to protect Brady along the offensive line. They felt they did that with the selection of Iowa OT Tristan Wirfs. Wirfs will slot in as a starter right away, and can also play guard if need be. In the second round, the Bucs grabbed Minnesota S Antoine Winfield Jr. to play a starting role in the defensive backfield right away. Their other day two pick was back on offense, as they took Vanderbilt RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn. Minnesota WR Tyler Johnson and Nebraska DL Khalil Davis headline Tampa Bay’s remaining four selections.
2020 Schedule
In addition to playing their rivals in the NFC South two times each, the Buccaneers will also go up against the NFC North and AFC West. They’ll also play two other third-place finishers from last year in the Giants and Rams. As a whole, it’s a slate of games that according to the NFL strength of schedule rankings is the 16th-most difficult in the league. Their opponents this year combined for a .502 winning percentage in 2019.
Brady’s Buccaneer debut will come on the road in a highly-anticipated Week 1 matchup in New Orlenas against the Saints. Then they’ll come home for a week to face the Panthers. Among the standout matchups in the first half of the schedule, Tampa Bay will visit the Bears on Thursday night in Week 5, then host the Packers, then play three straight primetime games at the Raiders on Sunday night, at the Giants on Monday night, and the Saints at home for another Sunday night matchup. The Bucs will host the defending-champion Chiefs before going into their late Week 13 bye. To close the season, Tampa Bay will play the Vikings and Lions, plus the Falcons twice, including a Week 17 home matchup to close out the regular season.
Verdict
It’s fair to say that the offensive core of Brady, Evans, Godwin, and Gronk is among the best in football. Those four, plus RB Ronald Jones II and TE O.J. Howard, should help the offense score plenty of points in head coach Bruce Arians’ dynamic offense. Defensively, the unit that improved quite a bit in 2019 is largely back this year, headlined by the All-Pro Barrett plus LB Lavonte Davis, LB Devin White, and DT Vita Vea.
So with all this talent and hype, will the Bucs go over or under 10 wins in 2020? There is reason to worry about the age of Brady and the rust of Gronkowski, but they should have time to adjust during the easier early portion of their schedule. It also seems unlikely that they will have a losing record at home once again. To me, there is a lot of talent on this club, and subbing out Winston’s 30 interceptions for Brady’s smart, calculated play will help the, tremendously. I think the push is a good bet, but I’ll go ahead and say that the Buccaneers will finish OVER 10 wins in 2020.
Bet the OVER for Tampa Bay at our favorite pay per head bookie site www.A1PPH.com.