The Jacksonville Jaguars (1-3) travel to meet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) this week in a matchup between two teams who’ve gotten off to slow starts. The game will begin Sunday, Oct 11 at 1:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS.
Tampa Bay dropped one to Carolina 37-23 last week. Vincent Jackson had an outstanding performance in the loss, totaling 10 catches for 147 yards and one TD. Doug Martin also had a big day, contributing 106 yards and a TD on 20 attempts. Jacksonville came up short as well, barely losing to Indianapolis 16-13. Allen Hurns had a big game for the Jaguars, totaling 11 catches for 116 yards and one TD.
Tampa Bay is a three-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 42 points.
The Buccaneers enter the game with a current record of 1-3 Straight Up (SU) and Against The Spread (ATS) this season. The Jaguars may have a difficult time throwing the ball against the Buccaneers’ No. 1 pass defense which has given up 185.5 passing yards per game this season. The Buccaneers might get the second half off to a solid start against the Jacksonville defense. The Jaguars allow an average of 7.8 points in the third quarter, making them one of the worst in the league.
Across the field, the Jaguars have a record of 2-2 ATS and 1-3 SU. The Jacksonville defense has allowed 83 yards per game this season, fourth in the league. The Buccaneers defense seems to start off slow some days. The Jaguars can take an early advantage against Tampa Bay and its league-worst average of 9.5 first-quarter points allowed.
Predictions: SU Winner – TB, ATS Winner – Jax, O/U – Over
Notes
Tampa Bay is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games.
Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Tampa Bay’s last 14 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games at home.
Tampa Bay is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 games at home.
Tampa Bay is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Jacksonville.
Jacksonville is 0-1 SU when leading at the start of the fourth quarter this season. Tampa Bay is 1-0 SU when leading after three quarters.
Jacksonville is rated higher in the ground game on both sides of the ball. Its 18th-ranked rushing attack will face the 30th-ranked run defense of Tampa Bay, while its fourth-ranked rush defense will look to contain the 16th-ranked run game of the Buccaneers.
