Buffalo vs Tampa Bay | 2021 NFL Predictions & Preview Game

Super Bowl 56 is in about two months in Los Angeles, and it’s very possible that Sunday’s matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a preview of that game. The Bucs are home favorites on the NFL odds.

How to Bet Bills at Bucs NFL Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 4:25 PM ET
Where: Raymond James Stadium
TV: CBS
Radio: http://www.siriusxm.com/nfl
Stream Option: NFLSUNDAYTICKET.TV
Opening NFL Lines: Bucs -3.5 (total 53.5)

Series History

Tampa Bay leads 7-4 but Buffalo has won two of the last three meetings in the series, both of them at home in what were the Bucs’ first two trips ever to upstate New York. The most recent game was in 2017 and the Bills won 30-27 at home in a game that saw 27 points scored and two lead changes in the fourth quarter. Still, the Bucs’ all-time winning percentage against Buffalo, .636, is their best against any NFL opponent.

Why Bet on Buffalo?

After a 4-1 start to the season, the Bills have swapped wins and losses for seven straight weeks. The offense hasn’t been able to find a rhythm that carries over week to week.

“We’ve got to play better,” QB Josh Allen said. “It’s no secret. We’ve got to start winning games to accomplish what we want to accomplish. But like I said, everything’s in front of us and we get to control our own destiny.”

The Bills lost at home 14-10 to New England last Monday night in horrific wintry conditions. Head coach Sean McDermott said the team’s offense would have to “figure it out” after that effort. On a wildly windy and frigid night, the Bills generated 230 yards (four yards per play) with a single field goal in the second half. The Bills are averaging about 20 fewer yards per game and 3.5 fewer points per game than they were in 2020.

“I don’t think, honestly, we took advantage of opportunities I really don’t,” McDermott told reporters after the game. “We were one for four in the red zone. We have to figure that part of it out.”

Buffalo’s average starting field position was their own 40-yard line compared to New England whose average field position was their own 23. The Bills had three penalties for a loss of 20 yards and a costly fumble on New England’s 29-yard line.

Allen completed just 15-of-30 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown. He took two sacks and led the team in rushing with six carries for 39 yards. Allen should have had a 44-yard touchdown to Stefon Diggs, but Diggs had the deep ball bounce off his arms in the end zone. Allen’s one touchdown pass was a 14-yarder to Gabriel Davis in the first quarter on a quick slant.

Allen’s numbers are down a bit from that high in 2021 but still quite good: 268.0 passing yards and 35.2 rushing yards per game and 39 total touchdowns, with a passer rating of 97.5 that ranks third in the AFC.

Linebacker AJ Klein’s placement on the reserve/COVID-19 list hours before Monday’s loss was the result of a positive test for the virus. While Klein was sidelined for the Week 13 loss, Tyrel Dodson stepped in as the Bills’ third linebacker alongside Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds, playing 53.1 percent of the snaps on defense. If Klein is vaccinated, he’ll have a chance to play Sunday.

Why Bet on Tampa Bay?

The Bucs had no trouble in a 30-17 win in Atlanta last Sunday. Tom Brady completed 38-of-51 passes for 368 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Brady came out firing on the team’s opening possession, throwing 14 consecutive passes (for 11 completions) including a clutch six-yard throw to Leonard Fournette on fourth-and-4 from the Atlanta 38-yard line and again to Fournette for a three-yard touchdown to cap the drive. Brady’s lone blunder — a pick-six in the final minute of the first half — was his fifth consecutive game with an interception.

Rob Gronkowski had two TD catches. Brady and Gronkowski have now connected for 90 regular-season touchdowns and surpassed Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates (89) for the second-most regular-season touchdowns by a pairing in NFL history. Only the Hall of Fame combination of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112) have more.

Brady enters Week 14 as the league’s leader in passing yards (3,771) and touchdown passes (34) in 2021. This marks his ninth season with at least 30 touchdown passes, tied for the second-most such seasons ever. With 229 passing yards against Buffalo, Brady will reach 4,000 passing yards for the 13th time in his career, joining Manning (14 seasons) as the only players with at least 4,000 passing yards in 13-or-more seasons in NFL history.

Brady also leads the league with 347 completions this season and has 7,125 career completions. With 18 completions on Sunday, Brady – who is already the league’s all-time leader in passing yards (82,975) and touchdown passes (615) – will surpass Drew Brees (7,142) for the most completions in NFL history.

Tampa Bay’s defense produced 17 sacks over the first eight games of the season but now has 15 over just the last four outings, capped by a five-sack outing in the Week 13 win at Atlanta. The Bills have one of the NFL’s best offensive fronts in terms of protecting the passer, so it will be a challenge for the Bucs’ pass rushers.

While with New England, Brady was 32-3 against Buffalo. Leslie Frazier, the Bills’ defensive coordinator, held the same post with the Buccaneers during the 2014-15 seasons.