Buccaneers vs Washington Prediction, Odds, Betting Trends and Props

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to the nation’s capital to face the Washington Football Team during NFL Wild Card Weekend. Here’s the NFL Betting preview and Buccaneers vs Washington prediction for the Wild Card matchup.

This betting preview contains the NFL odds, key betting trends, prop bets, and predictions for the Buccaneers vs Washington NFL Playoffs game on Saturday afternoon.

NFL Odds, NFL Picks, and NFL Props | Buccaneers vs Washington

Buccaneers vs Washington Game Info

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5, 6-2 Away) vs. Washington Football Team (7-9, 3-5 Home)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021
Time: 8:15 p.m. EST
Venue: FedExField — Landover, MD
Coverage: NBC

Buccaneers vs Washington NFL Odds + NFL Picks

All odds courtesy of Bovada Sportsbook

All NFL betting lines and odds are available on Bovada Sportsbook.
Moneyline: TB: (-480) | WAS: (+340)
Spread: TB: -9.5 (-110) | WAS: +9.5 (-110)
Total: 45 – Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
Public (Spread) Betting Percentages: TB: (82%) | WAS: (18%)
Odds to Win Super Bowl LV: TB: (+1000) | WAS: (+8500)

Buccaneers vs Washington NFL Playoffs Overview

The Buccaneers appear to be peaking at the right time, scoring 122 points over the last 10 quarters. The big difference has been the offense finally showing a bit of creativity. Before this stretch, it was essentially a given that the Buccaneers were going to run the ball, and fail, on first now. Over the past 10 quarters, Tampa has finally let Tom Brady throw the ball on first down and seemingly have more freedom at the line of scrimmage. The offense is hitting its stride and they have gotten Antonio Brown fully involved, with him catching 20 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns over the past three games. Mike Evans also plans to be active on Saturday night, after avoiding a serious knee injury last week.

Tampa’s defense will be without second-year linebacker Devin White for this game. White is the best pass rusher from the linebacker position, totaling nine sacks and 31 total pressures, which is by far the most at the position. He also is two shy of the most defensive stops on the team. His absence in the middle of the defense will be felt, though Washington’s offense isn’t exactly their strength.

In fact, Washington’s offense is downright bad. They average the second-worst yards per play in the league, at just 4.8. They are also tied for 25th in scoring (20.9) and 23rd in third down conversion rate (39.1%). On top of that, Alex Smith is now inactive for tonight.

It’s the defense that has made this team it’s money this season. Washington ranks second in yards per play allowed (4.9), sixth in opponent third down conversion (37.5%) and fourth in scoring defense (20.6). They are also unbelievable at halftime adjustments. Washington allows just 5.7 second half points per game. Over the last seven games, they have allowed a total of 21 second half points. If Tampa wants to win, they better have a lead at halftime.

Buccaneers vs Washington NFL Betting Trends

The total has hit the under in four of the Buccaneers’ last five road games against Washington.
The Buccaneers are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last five games.
The Buccaneers are 5-0 straight up in their last five road games.
Washington is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games.
The total has hit the under in each of the last five games for Washington.
The under has hit in five of Washington’s last six home games.

Buccaneers vs Washington Stats

Tampa Bay is averaging 30.8 points per game (PPG) this season (No. 3 in the NFL).
Tampa Bay is surrendering 22.2 PPG this season (No. 8 in the NFL).
Washington is averaging 20.9 points per game (PPG) this season (T-No. 25 in the NFL).
Washington is surrendering 20.6 PPG this season (No. 4 in the NFL).

Monkey Knife Fight NFL Playoffs Props | Buccaneers vs Washington

Monkey Knife Fight is a DFS site unlike DraftKings or FanDuel. Instead, the contests feature props to play, with varying multipliers for each contest. Unlike the aforementioned sites, you are only competing with yourself when making NFL picks on MKF, and you do not need to worry about annoying salary caps.

Monkey Knife Fight has several great NFL props for the entire NFL Playoffs Wild Card Weekend slate. Here is one in particular that I like for the Rams vs Seahawks.

While Evans is expected to play, we shouldn’t expect him to play great. Washington has one of the best defenses in the NFL, and they are excellent at getting pressure. This should limit the amount of downfield passes for Brady, drastically hurting Evans’ value. He is also not going to play his full snap share. On the other side, Gibson does not catch the ball a ton and he faces a Tampa defense that allows the fewest yards per carry in the league (3.6). To me, you’re just guessing whether or not Gibson scores a touchdown.

Getting these two props correctly wins you 3x your entry into this contest on MKF!

Buccaneers vs Washington NFL Playoffs Prediction

This game is not as simple as some are making it seem around the industry. Yes, Tampa’s offense is clearly playing better, but they also played the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons twice over their past four wins. Washington’s defense is the best coached unit in this game, and they are one of the best defenses in the entire league. Tom Brady has struggled in his career against teams that can rush four and get pressure, which clearly Washington can do.

The difference in this game will be each team’s ability to move the chains on third down. Tampa converts on 43.4% of their third downs, while allowing opponents to convert on 40% of theirs. Washington coverts on only 39.1% of their third downs, but holds opponents to a 37.5% conversion rate.

Unless there is a defensive score, which is possible, it’s tough to trust the Washington to score enough to win a playoff game. While Tampa should struggle, they will have the playmakers to turn mistakes into big gains, which will be enough to win outright.