Can the Birds pull off an upset?
The reigning Super Bowl champions will take center stage Thursday night when the NFL kicks off Week 6 of the 2021 season.
The Buccaneers will be in the City of Brotherly Love for a primetime tilt against the Eagles. Tampa Bay enters the contest 4-1 (2-3 against the spread) on the campaign, while Philadelphia currently sits at 2-3 both straight up and ATS.
Thanks to NESN Games, you can win a great prize from a contest centered around the Bucs-Birds matchup. All you have to do is make the eight picks in the “Buccaneers vs. Eagles TNF Challenge” and hope your score delivers you the $25 Amazon gift card.
Let’s check out the picks.
Spread (including overtime): Buccaneers -6.5
As previously mentioned, Tampa Bay currently is under .500 ATS. Those three losses came against the Cowboys, Rams and Patriots as a 9.5-, 1- and 6.5-point favorite, respectively. Philadelphia was the underdog in all of its first five games, and its lone ATS triumphs came against the Falcons (+2.5) and the Panthers (+2.5), both of which were SU victories.
Over/under (including overtime): 52.5
Eagles games to date only have seen two totals north of 50, but the OVER cashed in both of those contests. The OVER hit in four of the Bucs’ five games, including totals of 52, 52.5 and 55. The lone UNDER for Tampa Bay came in a rain-soaked game on the road against New England.
Chris Godwin receiving yards: over/under 64.5 yards
Godwin racked up 64 receiving yards or more in three of his first five games. But it should be noted one of those misses was a 62-yard outing against the Atlanta Falcons.
Jalen Hurts passing yards: over/under 248.5 yards.
Hurts eclipsed the 248-yard threshold in 60% of his 2021 starts to date. He has been held under 200 passing yards twice thus far this season, but the Buccaneers currently are allowing the most yards through the air per game.
Miles Sanders rushing yards: over/under 45.5 yards
Sanders’ three best rushing performances to date saw the Eagles back scamper for 74, 55 and 45 yards. But as awful as Tampa Bay has been against the pass, it’s been equally dominant against the ground game. Bruce Arians’ team currently is allowing the fewest rushing yards per contest.
Tom Brady passing yards: over/under 309.5 yards
Brady, the league’s passing yards leader, already has two 400-plus yard performances to his credit this season. That said, Philly has yet to allow an opposing QB to throw for over 300. The Eagles even limited Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes to 238 and 278, respectively.
Highest-scoring quarter
The second quarter (+190) and the fourth quarter (+230) have the cheapest prices, while the first frame (+700) is pegged as a long shot.
First scoring play
At -200, touchdown is the clear favorite here.