Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys Betting Preview
After a long day of football, enjoy a primetime matchup of NFC heavyweights as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Dallas Cowboys. This game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, with kickoff scheduled for 8:20 pm ET.
Last season, Tampa Bay finished first in the NFC South with a 13-4 record. They were not able to repeat as Super Bowl champions, though, as they lost 30-27 to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round.
The Buccaneers enter this season under a new head coach as Todd Bowles takes over for Bruce Arians. With an aging Tom Brady, they will look to make another run at the Super Bowl, which they have the second-best odds of winning at +750.
The Cowboys also won their division, winning the NFC East with a record of 12-5. Dallas lost in the first round of the playoffs as San Francisco defeated them 23-17 in the wild-card round.
Dallas is expected to have a tougher time in the division this year as they are just +155 to win the NFC East, second-best overall. They are +2000 to win Super Bowl LVII.
The Buccaneers are slight favorites despite playing on the road. They are -148 to win, while the Cowboys’ moneyline sits at +126. The runline features Dallas +2.5 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 50.5.
One Last Run For Brady?
After retiring and then un-retiring, the 45-year-old Tom Brady is back to try to lead the Buccaneers to another Super Bowl championship. While his stats did not show much signs of slowing down, Brady has acknowledged that his career may be coming to a close.
Whether he returns for another season or not remains to be seen, Brady is hoping to replicate a fantastic season last year where he threw for 5,316 yards, 43 touchdowns, and just 12 interceptions.
While Rob Gronkowski may be gone, Brady still has a slew of talented options to throw to. Mike Evans (1,035 yards receiving, 14 touchdowns) and Chris Godwin (1,103 yards receiving, five touchdowns) return, while Julio Jones (434 yards, one touchdown) and Kyle Rudolph (257 yards, one touchdown) were added to the mix.
It is worth noting that Godwin is questionable for Sunday’s game with a knee injury.
The team ranked seventh in scoring defense last year, allowing just 20.9 points per game to opponents.
Cowboys Look For Offense To Match Defensive Production
Last season, the defense for the Cowboys was one of the best in the league. Not only did they rank eighth in scoring defense (21.2 points allowed per game), but they also ranked first in takeaways per game (averaged 1.9 per game).
One of the main reasons for their success was the defensive Rookie of the Year in Micah Parsons. Last year, he had 84 tackles, 13 sacks, and three forced fumbles for the Cowboys’ defense.
The question this year will be whether the offense can keep up with the defense. Dak Prescott returns under center. He threw for 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns, and ten interceptions last season.
The problem for Prescott is the wide receiving core is a little lighter this year. Amari Cooper is now with the Cleveland Browns, and Michael Gallup is out for this game with a knee injury.
CeeDee Lamb will be Prescott’s best weapon, as he had 1,102 yards receiving and six touchdowns last season.
On the ground, Ezekiel Elliott returns for a contract year. Last season, he rushed for 1,002 yards and ten touchdowns.
Take The Cowboys And The Points
This one is a tough one to call. On the one hand, the offense for Dallas has some holes, but the defense should be extremely stout.
On the other hand, Tampa Bay has the weapons, but Tom Brady may be a bit more vulnerable Sunday night as they have some major injuries on their offensive line.
Looking at the trends, Tampa Bay is just 2-6 against the spread in their last eight Week 1 games. They are winless in their last five games at AT&T Stadium.
It is hard to imagine either team blowing out the other in this one. For that reason, take the points. In this case, that means taking Dallas +2.5 (-110).
