With both teams coming off of tough losses, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans are both sitting at 3-5 and desperately in need of a victory to remain in playoff contention.
Tampa has lost four games in a row, with some seriously close calls mixed in, while it’s been a bit more up-and-down for Tennessee.
There are plenty of similarities between these two squads and how they approach the game, so it will be quite interesting to see how this one plays out.
Let’s take a look at some NFL Week 10 odds, predictions, and best bets.
Titans vs Buccaneers Odds
NFL odds used for this Tennessee vs Tampa Bay preview were found at DraftKings Sportsbook and are current as of Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 11 am ET.
- Moneyline: Buccaneers (-115) • Titans (-105)
- Spread: Buccaneers -1 (-108) • Underdog +1 (-112)
- Total Points: Over 38 (-112) • Under 38 (-108)
- Implied Score: Buccaneers 19.5, Titans 18.5
Titans vs Buccaneers Predictions
Score Pick: Buccaneers 20, Titans 13
After Will Levis burst onto the scene with a historic debut for the Titans, the second game of his NFL career was quite the dose of reality. Facing a fearsome Steelers defense that had the opportunity to learn from the previous week’s film and prepare for Levis, unlike the Falcons a week before, he struggled with a 56% completion, no touchdowns, and an interception.
This week, it could be another rough outing for the Kentucky alum. The Bucs pass defense isn’t anything special, but they should be able to snuff out the Titans’ run game and make them rely on the passing game more than they’d like to.
That went fine for the Texans last week, but Levis just isn’t as acclimated to the pro game as C.J. Stroud is just yet, and Tennessee’s overall air offense isn’t in the same place.
As for the Tampa offense, Baker Mayfield and company had a nice showing in the loss to Houston, but they were a bit lucky- the offensive performance wasn’t quite as dominant as the final scoreline made it look, as they were outgained by the Texans by a count of 496 yards to just 332.
I’d expect them to come back to Earth a bit this week, but going up against a new starter, they should be able to scrape out a much-needed win.
Titans vs Buccaneers Best Bets & Props
Buccaneers -1 (-108)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit
For our NFL bet of the day, we’re going to back the home team to cover a modest spread, as Tampa’s value has fallen a bunch since a hot start to the year, but this is still a better team than it was expected to be this season.
It has been hampered a bit by a challenging schedule, and this week is a great opportunity to bounce back.
The offense won’t be able to move methodically with an already-ineffective run game going up against a highly-graded Titans run defense, but the wideout duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin should be more than able to find a couple of big plays to break through against a shaky Titans secondary.
It might yield just a couple of scores, but that could be enough if the Tampa defense does its job and limits Derrick Henry in the run game.
Under 38 (-108)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit
The phenomenon of backups and rookies stepping in and immediately having big games is more than a fluke; it’s a real trend that is driven by the challenge of preparing for a game without film of the starting quarterback for the day running the offense.
Levis deserves a ton of credit for a great debut, but that game is the only one out of the last four in which the Titans have mustered any scoring output other than exactly 16 points, so there’s reason to believe it was an outlier.
The Bucs are coming off of an outlier game of their own, as their explosion against Houston came on the heels of three consecutive games in which they scored fewer than 20 points. With both teams likely to regress to the mean, this is a great spot to buy the Under.
Under 4 Touchdowns (-125)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 Unit
Another facet of the Levis debut that suggests the performance was a bit of a mirage is that despite the four big touchdown throws, he finished 44th of all 44 passers in Week 8 in the category of success rate.
Against a Tampa defense that’s less likely to allow the big play, that’s not a sustainable approach, as the lack of consistency will stop him from scoring on the league’s second-best red zone defense, which has allowed touchdowns on just 34.62% of opponent drives inside the 20.
Not to be outdone, the Titans are third on that same list with a figure of 36.67%. Tampa’s red zone offense is about league average, as it has scored touchdowns in half of its opportunities.
But with the run game centered around Rachaad White struggling, it’s hard to see how they move the ball in short spaces and finish drives against Tennessee.
Titans vs Buccaneers Same Game Parlay
Titans vs Buccaneers SGP (+212)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.5 Units
- Buccaneers Under 24.5 Points (-325)
- Titans Under 24.5 Points (-310)
- Over 3.5 Field Goals Made (-115)
We’ll keep building on the concept of a gritty defensive battle, where both teams are able to move the ball but struggle to finish drives. It’s not hard to imagine Levis and the Titans driving against a Buccaneers defense that has struggled to apply pressure, and the same could be said on the other side of the football as Tennessee’s pass rush has been lethargic, as well.
However, as we’ve established, both of these red zone defenses are excellent, so we could see several drives stall out, and thus several field goals. Of course, settling for field goals is never good for running up the score, so we’ll also fade both teams’ scoring totals, played to the alternate number of 24.5 to gain access to a few significant numbers, such as 24 and 21.
