The final match of the NFL 2023 Super Wildcard Weekend comes from Florida on Monday night when the NFC South champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the side who lost out in the Super Bowl last season in Philadelphia Eagles.
For the opening 10 weeks or so of this season it looked like the Eagles were going to be an unstoppable force this term but they couldn’t maintain it and now they have to go to Tampa Bay where a trip to Detroit await the winners.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be considered fortunate that they were in the worst division in football this season but whatever the strength of their section was, they won it with a 9-8 record and they will line up at home in a playoff game once again. The one thing you would say about the Bucs is when they had to win last week to guarantee they were into the playoffs, they were able to get the job done, even if it was an unconvincing win over a poor Carolina Panthers side.
It has been a sketchy last two weeks for the Buccaneers but prior to that their offense had found some form and they will need that offense to come to the party here. To be fair to their defence, it has been in decent enough nick in the last couple of weeks but keeping this Philadelphia offense quiet is easier said than done so if their offense can take the pressure off the defence in a game like this it would certainly help.
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Philadelphia Eagles
At one stage this season the Philadelphia Eagles were 10-1 for their campaign and seemingly coasting towards not just the NFC East title but also challenging for the number one seed in the NFC. Then came a spectacular collapse where they ended up losing five of their last six matches and never really got close to winning the division and now they have to go on the road potentially throughout the postseason if they are going to get back to the Super Bowl.
The positive for the Eagles in this slump is that they don’t need to dig around too much to work out where they have fallen apart. Their defence has been terrible in the last few weeks and if that doesn’t improve, and it is injury related so it is unsure if they can, then they are going to be vulnerable. They do have a balanced offense but the absence of Antonio Brown certainly isn’t going to help proceedings.
Betting
I’m keen to avoid the Philadelphia Eagles in terms of betting in this match. I would need to see how they cope without Antonio Brown before I get involved in them but we do know that their defence isn’t going to be any better this week and the question is how well the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can feed on it. If you watched them last week you would say not very well but there is so much quality in the receiving core in particular for Baker Mayfield that he really should torch this defence.
The Bucs’ point line in this match is 19.5 which feels way too low when you consider that statistically the Eagles’ defence ranked the third worst in the league this season and the passing defence second worst. With Tampa Bay having the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and a couple of decent backup options you would imagine Philadelphia are going to struggle defensively. Their offense might get the Eagles home but I think they are going to need more than 20 points to win this.
Tips
Back Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Over 19.5 points for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Boylesports
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