Bears vs. Bucs Total Pick
Will the Tampa Bay Buccaneers be rusty when they open the season against the Chicago Bears today at 1PM ET? If so, what will it mean for the total?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Tampa Bay is the clear favorite at home, as the Bucs are getting odds of -6.5 points against the Bears. The over/under total for the contest has been listed at 43.5 points. Chicago has won three of its last four against Tampa while the two have hit the over in their last two meetings. These two will meet from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida and the game will air live on FOX.
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The Chicago Bears started their 2017 season with a 23-17 loss at home to the Atlanta Falcons, going under the 48-point total in the process. The Bears were held to 301 yards of offense in the loss while allowing 372 to the Falcons, including 308 passing yards. Mike Glennon threw for 213 yards and a touchdown in his Chicago debut, while Tarik Cohen, the backup running back, was the leading receiver (47 yards) and leading rusher (66 yards) for Chicago. Jordan Howard, the lead back, is dealing with a shoulder injury but is expected to play today. However, Kevin White was put on IR this week after suffering a broken shoulder blade against the Falcons.
Tampa Bay was scheduled to open its season at Miami last week, but Hurricane Irma postponed the game to a later date. The Bucs are coming off a 9-7 record in 2016 in which they were 8-7-1 with the under. Jameis Winston led the Tampa offense in 2016, as he threw for 4,090 yards and 28 touchdowns with 18 interceptions. Mike Evans caught 96 passes for 1,321 yards and 12 touchdowns a year ago to emerge as one of the league’s top receivers. The team also added receiver DeSean Jackson in the offseason. Defensively, Tampa Bay was one of the worst units in 2016. The Bucs allowed 23.1 points and 367.9 yards per game. However, the unit had 38 sacks and forced 28 turnovers.
I can see this game being sloppy. Tampa Bay didn’t get an opener to shake off some rust and most of the starters will not have played in three weeks. That’s a lot of time without live action. Chicago may continue to struggle on offense, going on the road with some key injuries already impacting the starters. Tampa Bay has hit the under in four of its last five conference games and I see it happening again today as both offenses will make early-season mistakes.
NFL WEEK 2 PREDICTION: BEARS/BUCCANEERS UNDER 43.5