Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins, FedEx Field, Landover, MD
Sunday, December 12, 2010, 1:00 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: Bucs -1
Current Line: Bucs -2
Opening Total: 41
Current Total: 41
Money Line: Bucs -120 / Redskins +100
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) hope to stay in the NFC playoff race and bounce back from a tough home loss to Atlanta when they visit the Washington Redskins (5-7) on Sunday. The Bucs (-2) have dropped consecutive games for the first time this season after falling to the Falcons 28-24 last Sunday while the Redskins have lost four of five to essentially end their playoff chances.
Tampa Bay had led Atlanta 24-14 early in the fourth quarter before Falcons kick returner Eric Weems took the ball back 102 yards for a touchdown just seconds after running back Earnest Graham had completed a 2-yard scoring pass to tight end John Gilmore. The Bucs then saw Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan complete the comeback by tossing a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Jenkins with 4:31 remaining for the game-winning score.
Tampa’s second-year quarterback Josh Freeman struggled for the second straight game, as he has completed 36 of 75 passes for 343 yards with two touchdowns and one interception during that stretch. Freeman had completed six fourth-quarter comebacks himself in his young career, but he was picked off on the team’s final drive around the two-minute mark after he drove the Bucs all the way down to the Falcons’ 27-yard line.
Injuries are starting to pile up for Tampa Bay as well, with cornerback Aqib Talib (hip) and center Jeff Faine (triceps) lost for the season after that loss to Atlanta. Both were starters and will be missed, following guard Davin Joseph (broken foot) and safety Cody Grimm (broken left leg) who suffered season-ending injuries the week before following a 17-10 loss at Baltimore.
The Bucs will be heading to the Washington area for the second time in three weeks and face a Redskins team that is reeling after their fourth straight loss to an NFC opponent. Washington’s lone win in the last five games came three weeks ago at Tennessee in overtime, 19-16.
Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan may have done the team a big favor by suspending former All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth for the last four weeks of the regular season without pay on Tuesday. Haynesworth has been a major distraction ever since Shanahan was hired, and his teammates should finally be able to move on now that he is no longer around.
The UNDER is 3-0 in Washington’s last three games overall and 2-0 in Tampa’s last two road games. The Bucs are a remarkable 10-1 against the spread in their last 11 road games and 2-0-1 ATS in the last three meetings with the Redskins, who have covered just once in five games overall.
Now that you have read this football betting preview featuring the Redskins & Bucs, check out the NFL odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
The question for the Redskins is, who will play nose tackle? Kemo probably shouldn’t even be on the field, as he looks to need another 6 months to recover from his injury 2 years ago. He’s getting shoved all over the place, proving that being a big is not enough for a NT. Their best tactic to take Tampa by surprise and win a game might be to play the 4-3 the entire game. All of their players still know how to play it and are actually better suited for it. In fact, a 4-4 might even be better, considering their current defensive back health situation and the fact that most of their LBs are better in coverage than Doughty…
Great point – thanks for the comment.