Game: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks

Date: October 5th at 4:05 PM ET

Where to Watch: CBS

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers make the trip out west following their first loss of the season to take on the Seattle Seahawks. Last week, the Buccaneers started slow and just weren’t able to do enough in the end to pull out the win against the Philadelphia Eagles. This trip comes with several injuries at the skill positions and in the secondary, so it will be an uphill battle for Tampa Bay. Seattle, after falling short in their week 1 game against the 49ers, has bounced back with a three-game win streak to bring their record to 3-1. The Seahawks’ offense has been hit or miss depending on the matchup, but their defense has consistently delivered, allowing just 16.8 points per game, which ranks 2nd in the NFL. Seattle certainly has the upper hand in this one for a number of reasons, but Tampa Bay is not a team to be overlooked. The Buccaneers have shown resilience early in the season, and even with injuries, they have enough playmakers to keep this game competitive.

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Weather 

The temperatures for this game will be in the low to mid-60s, with a 0% chance of rain. With the design of Seattle’s stadium, wind typically doesn’t play a major factor, but conditions are expected to average around 9 mph, with gusts reaching up to 18 mph.

Betting Overview

When the betting markets first opened for this game, the Buccaneers were favored at -1.5, but now they find themselves as underdogs with Seattle favored at -3.5. The moneyline has also shifted quite a bit, with Tampa now sitting between +150 and +165, while Seattle is listed between -180 and -200. The total has also seen movement, dropping from its opening number of 47.5 down to between 44 and 44.5 depending on the sportsbook.

Position Group & Coaching Comparisons

Coaching: Todd Bowles and his staff bring far more experience together, and they face a coaching group that is still building chemistry, giving Tampa Bay the edge in this area.

DLs vs. OLs: While both defensive lines are fairly comparable, the Buccaneers certainly boast the stronger offensive line, which tips the trenches in their favor.

QBs: This duel between two former Carolina Panthers quarterbacks should be intriguing. Baker Mayfield has shown far more consistency in recent years than Sam Darnold, giving him the advantage.

RBs & TEs vs. LBs: Seattle earns the edge here, as Tampa is managing an injury to Bucky Irving, while Kenneth Walker has been off to a strong start. The tight end and linebacker groups are relatively even between both teams.

WRs vs. Secondaries: Both squads are dealing with injuries in the secondary, but Tampa will again be without veteran wideout Mike Evans. Meanwhile, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has continued to emerge as a dangerous weapon for Seattle.

Betting Trends

Tampa Bay enters this matchup 2-2 ATS, but they have covered in both road games this season, each time as an underdog. The over/under has also split evenly at 2-2, with the under cashing in both of the Buccaneers’ road contests so far.

Seattle sits with the same ATS mark as their straight-up record at 3-1. However, the Seahawks have split at home, going 1-1 ATS, while successfully covering in their lone appearance as a home favorite. Totals have also been divided evenly in Seattle’s games at 2-2, but it was the over that prevailed in the one game where the Seahawks were favored at home.

Final Thoughts

This matchup is shaping up to be one of the better games in the 4:00 slate, but it’s unfortunate that we won’t see Tampa Bay at full strength. Considering the Buccaneers must travel across the country, are without several key players, and enter this contest with a rest disadvantage, I lean toward Seattle winning and covering the spread. As for the total, it could truly go either way, which is consistent with the split over/under records for both of these teams up to this point in the season.