When the Buccaneers (4-1) travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles (2-3) on “Thursday Night Football” (8:20 p.m. ET, Fox, NFL Network or Amazon Prime Video), it will be a battle of two teams that had different Week 5 wins.
Tampa Bay destroyed Miami at home with Tom Brady and the offense doing whatever it wanted. Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia came back to shock Carolina late on the road.
The Bucs return to the Northeast trying to do better than their Patriots escape in Week 4. The Eagles are looking for their first win at home after losing there to the Chiefs in Week 4.
Here’s everything to know about betting on Buccaneers vs. Eagles in Week 6, including updated odds, trends and our prediction for “Thursday Night Football.”
NFL WEEK 6 PICKS: Against the spread | Straight up
Eagles vs. Buccaneers odds for ‘Thursday Night Football’
- Spread: Buccaneers by 7
- Over/under: 52.5
- Moneyine: Buccaneers -290, Eagles +235
The line has been at a touchdown since early in the week. The over/under is tied to the Buccaneers’ relentless offense with Brady and the Eagles’ good-rallying offense with Hurts.
(betting odds per FanDuel Sportsbook)
Eagles vs. Buccaneers all-time series
The Eagles hold the slight edge overall 10-9. The Buccaneers have won the past two meetings, 27-21 in 2018 and 45-17 in 2015. Before then the Eagles were riding a three-game winning streak. Before that the Bucs had a three-game run of their own to counter an Eagles’ four-game surge starting in 2000.
Three trends to know
—A whopping 81 percent of spread bettors think the number is too big in favor of the Buccaneers and believe the Eagles will cover as home night underdogs.
—An even bigger 93 percent of over/under bettors think the early-week high-point total is still a bit low given Brady and Hurts.
—The Buccaneers are 9-1 straight up and 6-4 against the spread in their past 10 games with the total going over 7 times. The Eagles are 3-7 SU and 4-6 ATS in their past 10 games. The total has gone over in half of them.
Three things to watch
Thumbs up for Brady
Brady is coming into the game with a right thumb injury. But he also is coming into the game after throwing for 411 yards and 5 TDs against the Dolphins last week. The Eagles have had success vs. Matt Ryan, Jimmy Garoppolo and Sam Darnold defensively. But they also were ripped by Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott. Look for more of the latter.
Who will help Hurts?
The Eagles will be more pass-happy here than usual but with tight end Dallas Goedert (COVID-19 list) on the shelf, they need some playmakers to step up for any chance of any upset. Rookie first-round wide receiver DeVonta Smith and second tight end Zach Ertz need to be key, but they also need to get their talented running backs, Miles Sanders and rookie Kenneth Gainwell, involved in the passing game. The Bucs have been gutted in the secondary and also will be without linebacker Lavonte David (ankle).
How will the Eagles cover the Bucs?
There’s no Rob Gronkowski again at tight end to cause coverage problems, but between Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown, the Eagles will have issues. Top cornerback Darius Slay is back in elite form, but Steven Nelson and Avonte Maddox are lot more vulnerable. Look for Godwin to be the biggest difference-maker this week after Evans and Brown made the big plays last week.
Stats that matter
142 rushing yards per game, 4.3 yards per carry. Those are the averages the Eagles are giving up in run defense, putting them No. 30 in the NFL. Their defensive strategy has been playing two high safeties to protect against the big play. Brady will see that and give feature back Leonard Fournette another heavy dose of handoffs when needed.
Eagles vs. Buccaneers prediction
The Eagles are a slow-starting offense. The Buccaneers like to jump on teams with Brady and their explosive wide receivers. The Eagles not wanting to run the ball much away from Hurts is a good strategy, given Tampa Bay boasts the dominant No. 1 run defense. The Buccaneers will protect Brady well and let him operate at high level on intermediate routes, while Hurts doesn’t have enough firepower to mount a serious comeback.
Buccaneers 34, Eagles 22