MNF Eagles vs. Buccaneers Week 3 odds and predictions
Every week, VSiN will be doing an in-depth dive on the week’s Monday Night Football game. This week there just so happens to be two. For the first of the two Week 3 Monday night games, we’re looking at the meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Both of these teams come into this game with 2-0 records. The Eagles beat the Minnesota Vikings in last week’s Thursday Night Football game, while the Buccaneers defense dominated the Chicago Bears in a 27-17 Week 2 win. With that out of the way, keep reading for our Eagles vs. Buccaneers preview, picks and player props.
***Top NFL Resources***
*Join thousands of other sports bettors and unlock access to picks, public betting splits data, & the VSiN live video broadcast by upgrading to VSiN Pro. Grab your first month for less than $10.*
- NFL Expert Picks
- NFL Betting Hub
- NFL 2024 Week-By-Week Schedule
- Parlay Calculator
- NFL Betting Splits
- NFL Betting Odds
RELATED: Check out our Pro Picks page for NFL best bets from all of our VSiN analysts
Eagles vs. Buccaneers Spread
The Buccaneers are currently seventh in the league in Defensive DVOA, and they’re sixth in the league in DVOA when you factor in just the pass. With that in mind, I like Tampa Bay’s chances of keeping the Philadelphia passing game somewhat in check. And that’s especially true with Jalen Hurts having not yet really taken off this season. Hurts has thrown for just 363 yards with two touchdowns and one pick through two games this season, and there are rumblings that he is playing through an injury. So, as long as the Bucs can keep A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith from getting behind them, I think we’ll see a good defensive performance out of Tampa. And that also goes for the running game. Todd Bowles is a very good defensive coach, so he’ll have a plan in place to make sure D’Andre Swift doesn’t come close to touching the 175 yards he had against the Vikings last week.
The real question in a game like this is whether the Buccaneers will be able to score against the Eagles. But Philadelphia’s secondary has looked beatable through two weeks. In Week 1, Mac Jones threw for 316 yards with three touchdowns and only one pick against the Eagles. That was good for a passer rating of 91.3. Then, Kirk Cousins threw for 364 yards with four touchdowns and no picks against Philadelphia in Week 2, which was good for a passer rating of 125.6. And the Eagles probably would have lost that second game if not for the Vikings having an abysmal defense. That said, it isn’t outrageous to think that Baker Mayfield can get things going through the air here. It has only been two weeks, but Mayfield has the third-highest PFF grade of any quarterback in the league. And most importantly, he is making good decisions with the football. With wide receivers like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, good things will happen if you’re not turning the ball over.
It does need to be mentioned that the Eagles have the luxury of having had a few extra days of rest coming into this game. But I don’t think that’ll be much of an issue for Tampa Bay. What’s more important here is that the Bucs will be playing this one at home. With the team being 2-0, the crowd should be extremely fired up for this primetime game. And the Eagles are just 8-11 against the spread on the road under head coach Nick Sirianni. Meanwhile, in his head coaching career, Bowles is 5-1-2 ATS when playing as a home underdog of 3.5 to 7 points.
Eagles vs. Buccaneers Total
This total is one that is pretty hard to call, but I’d lean towards taking the Over. While Tampa Bay definitely wants to win this game in the mud, it’s going to be hard to completely keep this Philadelphia offense from finding success. Even when Hurts isn’t at full strength, he is still so good at throwing outside the numbers. And I think there will be a few big plays to Brown or Smith in this game. And there could also be a big designer deep shot to somebody else. Meanwhile, I also think the Buccaneers will have a lot of success through the air against this Eagles secondary. There’s a reason the Over is 2-0 in Philadelphia’s games this year.
For what it’s worth, the Over is also 2-0 when the Eagles are coming off a Thursday night game under Sirianni. And oddly enough, it was the opponent that put up big numbers the following week, even with the offensive-minded coach having extra time to prepare his offense for the week ahead. Perhaps that’s a good sign for the Bucs heading into this one. But I think both offenses will do their parts for Over bettors.
Eagles vs. Buccaneers Player Props
Parlay Calculator | Player Prop Analyzer
Cade Otton Over 2.5 Receptions
It’s going to be a little juicy to play the Over on Cade Otton’s reception total, but I think it’s a bet you have to make. This Eagles team just hasn’t proven that it is capable of covering tight ends. In Week 1, Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki combined to have eight catches for 92 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia. Then, T.J. Hockenson had seven catches for 66 yards and two scores against the Eagles in Week 2. Now, it’s Otton’s turn to go up against this soft defense. And Otton just had six catches for 41 yards against the Bears last week. We saw last year that Otton is a good pass catcher and he has been involved early this season.
Eagles vs. Buccaneers Best Bet
I don’t think this Bucs team is going anywhere. The NFC is extremely weak this season and Tampa can play good enough defense to support an offense that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. It is possible that the front office decides to sell some pieces off in a couple of weeks. But until that happens, I like this to be a competitive football team. And I think Tampa has the type of roster and play style to give Philadelphia trouble, especially with the way the Eagles are playing right now. They might be 2-0 on the year, but they look vulnerable.
Bet: Buccaneers +5 (-110)
