The fourth-seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-8), fresh off an upset victory over Philadelphia in the wild card round, will be in Detroit to battle the third-seeded Lions (13-5) Sunday afternoon in NFC divisional round play.
This will be a rematch of the teams’ Week 6 meeting at Tampa Bay when the Lions won 20-6.
On Monday night, when the NFL released its schedule for this weekend, Detroit was listed as a 6-point favorite with the OVER/UNDER set at 48.5. The spread has since increased by a point at some sites and with the O/U total reduced by up to 1.5 points.
Against the spread this year these two teams were the most successful in the league, both going 12-6.
With regard to OVER/UNDER results, 11 of Detroit’s 18 games have gone over. It was quite different for Tampa Bay, which participated in only six OVERs. During the course of the season, UNDER bettors have collected 55.4 percent of the time.
Buccaneers vs. Lions: Point spread, moneyline, total
Here’s the latest NFL betting odds for Bucs vs. Lions:
In the Lions’ Week 6 victory as a 3-point favorite they held Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield to his worst passer rating of the season at 56.8. It was one of only two games this year he didn’t have a touchdown pass.
Sitting out that game was fleet Lions rookie RB Jaymyr Gibbs, who averaged 5.2 yards a carry this year and was second in the league with 10 runs of 20-plus yards. Without him the Lions were held to 40 rushing yards on 22 carries, their second-lowest total over the past three seasons. David Montgomery, Detroit’s 1,000-yard rusher, was injured in that game and had only six carries.
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Bucs vs. Lions injury report
Topping the list of concerns for Tampa Bay are the injuries to star linebacker Shaquil Barrett and WR Chris Godwin (team-high 83 receptions), who both sat out drills Wednesday.
For Detroit, the nagging injuries to center Frank Ragnow are always an issue. But it looks like LB Alex Anzalone will be OK. He led the team in tackles last week against the Rams.
Here is the current injury report for Bucs vs. Lions:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers betting news
Tampa Bay, which won the NFC South despite having the longest preseason odds in the four-team division, finished 23rd in total offense and total defense as well. The last time a team won a playoff game despite finishing the regular season in the bottom 10 offensively and defensively was Seattle in 2010 (28th/27th).
Last week’s victory by Tampa Bay was only its second this year in seven outings against a team that qualified for the playoffs.
As for Mayfield, there’s good news in that he was a full participant in midweek drills after struggling with ankle/rib issues last week. Despite those ailments, against the Eagles he threw for 337 yards and three scores thanks in part to the ridiculous number of missed tackles in the Philly secondary.
Detroit Lions betting news
Detroit broke its league-worst playoff victory drought of 31 years with its 24-23 victory over the visiting L.A. Rams on Sunday, giving QB Jared Goff a big dose of revenge against the team that traded him to the Lions before the 2021 season.
Now Detroit gets to play its second straight game at home in the postseason, as many as it totaled the previous 65 years.
Last week the Lions were particularly impressive early in the game, scoring TDs on their first three possessions — all covering 75 yards. But but in their remaining five marches all they could muster was a field goal.
Bucs vs. Lions props
Let’s look at some prop bets for the Bucs vs. Lions at top-rated sportsbook apps nationwide.
Scoring 2+ TDs (DraftKings)
- Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: +450
- Lions RB David Montgomery: +450
- Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: +550
- Lions QB Jared Goff: +10000
- Bucs RB Rachaad White: +550
- Bucs WR Mike Evans: +600
- Bucs WR Chris Godwin: +1800
- Bucs QB Baker Mayfield: +11000
Alternate Point Spreads (FanDuel)
- Lions +14.5: -6000
- Bucs -14.5: +1400
- Lions +7.5: -1200
- Bucs -7.5: +630
- Lions -1.5: -265
- Bucs +1.5: +200
- Lions -10.5: +162
- Bucs +10.5: -210
- Lions -14.5: +250
- Bucs +14.5: -340
Buccaneers vs. Lions Predictions
The Bucs were coming off a bye week when they were drubbed at home by Detroit in Week 6. That 14-point loss was second-most lopsided defeat this season for a team that just had a week’s rest and was going against a squad that played the week before.
So why would Tampa Bay be expected to to do well this week when it will instead be working on short rest and having to travel to play in Detroit’s domed Ford Field and with Gibbs and Montgomery ready to rumble?
As for the Bucs’ ground game, it could be a rough outing since they average an NFL-low 3.4 yards a carry in the regular season. Detroit’s defense yielded 3.7, third-lowest.
And even though on paper that 32-9 Bucs romp last week was mighty impressive, it was against an Eagles team that nose-dived late in the season with six losses its final seven games. That wasn’t the same Philly team that won at Tampa Bay 25-11 in Week 3.
And speaking of Ford Field, it might be extra hard for Mayfield and his offensive mates to do much communicating. There were reports last week that the crowd noise for that Rams game set a decibel record for the building.
Prediction: Lions / UNDER
How to watch Bucs vs. Lions
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 21
- Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Ford Field | Detroit
- Where to watch: NBC