Atlanta Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Bucs, 12/27/18 Predictions & Odds

Falcons vs. Bucs Total Prediction

With no playoff berths on the line, the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Bucs will play for pride on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. Did oddsmakers set the betting total too high for this NFC South matchup?

Game Snapshot

317 Atlanta Falcons at 318 Tampa Bay Bucs

1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 30

Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Public Betting Trends

According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Falcons are 1-point favorites to beat the Bucs. The total, meanwhile, sits at 51 points. As of this writing, 51% of the public betting tickets are on the Falcons to cover the point spread.

Atlanta Falcons

Matt Ryan completed 15-of-26 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the Falcons' Week 16 win over the Panthers. Enjoying a squeaky-clean pocket all game -- he was hit only three times and sacked once -- Ryan uncorked an early goal-line TD to Julio Jones, then a wide-open 75-yard score to Calvin Ridley on a blatant Panthers coverage bust, and his third score from 44 yards out to Mohamed Sanu on yet another back-end breakdown. Still playing to win even with their playoff hopes long ago dashed, the Falcons travel to Tampa Bay for their final 2018 game.

Tampa Bay Bucs

Coach Dirk Koetter wouldn't rule out giving Ryan Griffin some snaps at quarterback Week 17 against the Falcons. Koetter said it on Christmas Eve and reiterated it Wednesday. "The guy's been here for three years," Koetter said. "He's worked his tail off. We just would like to see Ryan Griffin get a chance to get into a game if the opportunity presents itself." Griffin has been talked up by this coaching staff but has never appeared in a regular season game. With Jameis Winston's future also up in the air in Tampa Bay, it sounds like Griffin could get some run just to get a glance at him. That threat of playing time for Griffin takes Winston off the board in DFS cash games.

NFL Betting Trends

Atlanta

The under is 8-3 in the Falcons’ last 11 road games and is 5-2 in their last seven games overall.

Tampa Bay

The under is 5-0 in the Bucs’ last five games overall and is 5-0 in their last five home games.

Prediction

After struggling for most of the year due to injuries, the Falcons have played well defensively the past two weeks. Granted, it came against Arizona and a Cam Newton-less Carolina team but the Falcons nevertheless rediscovered the swagger that they had on that side of the ball the past two seasons. On the other side of the ball, the Falcons hung 40 points on the Cardinals at home two weeks ago but scored only 24 last week in Charlotte. They’re a different offense away from their dome in Atlanta and I expect the scoring to be held in check at Raymond James on Sunday.

NFL Week 17 Prediction: Falcons/Bucs under 51