Eagles-Buccaneers Betting Preview: Can Tampa Bay Pull Off Another Upset?

Betting odds: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Spread: Eagles -3
• Over/Under: 44
• Time: 1 p.m. ET
• TV channel: FOX

Betting market: More than 70% of bettors are backing the Super Bowl champs on the road at the time of writing (see live data here).

While the Buccaneers had a hell of a game in Week 1, upsetting New Orleans inside the Superdome, but they're going to have to do more to win over the approval of public bettors.

At least they have gained some confidence in the oddsmakers, though, as the books seem hesitant to move the line to Eagles -3.5 and give patient Tampa Bay backers the hook. —Mark Gallant

Trends to know: Can the Bucs pull another upset on Sunday?

Since 2003, teams that won their previous game as a double-digit underdog went 23-32-4 against the spread the next week, and if they are underdogs again, the team went 15-25-3 ATS (38%). — John Ewing

When it comes to clutch defense, the Eagles have been second to none over the past two seasons and proved that again against Atlanta in the season-opener:

• The Eagles have played 23 consecutive games without allowing a single point in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
• They've allowed only one touchdown in the final two minutes of either half since the start of last season: Kirk Cousins in Week 1 of 2017. — Evan Abrams

Injury watch: Nick Foles will start in place of Carson Wentz (knee) for another week, and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) also reportedly isn't expected to play until Week 3 at the earliest.

Targets in the offense could be more focused with neither running back Darren Sproles (hamstring) nor wide receiver Shelton Gibson (knee) looking good for Sunday after being downgraded to DNPs on Thursday.

It’ll be the the Ryan Fitzmagic show under center again for the Bucs as Jameis Winston serves the second of his three-game suspension.

DeSean Jackson (concussion/shoulder) looked like a long-shot to suit up to start the week, but he was able to get in a limited practice on Thursday and should be considered questionable.

The Bucs offense should at least have left tackle Donovan Smith (knee) and guard Caleb Benenoch (knee) against the Eagles' ferocious defensive line.

The defense is less lucky, as cornerback Brent Grimes (hamstring), first-rounder defensive tackle Vita Vea (calf) and defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (knee) could join cornerback Vernon Hargreaves (shoulder) on the bench. — Ian Hartitz

Note: All injury info as of Thursday 9/13 at 5:30pm EST. Please visit our Week 2 Injury Dashboard for updated daily practice participation and game statuses up until game time.

Matchup to watch: With Hargreaves on IR and Grimes also dealing with injury, the Bucs don't have much experience left in the secondary with two rookie starting corners Carlton Davis and Stewart to go along with Ryan Smith, who has started just 11 carer games.

That's not ideal for a Bucs pass defense that finished dead-last in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric last year and got absolutely torched by the Saints last week.

Then again, it can't get much worse, and I'm not sure I trust Foles and a depleted receiving corps in potentially windy conditions. — Stuckey

DFS edge: Nelson Agholor is expected to run the majority of his routes against M.J. Stewart. This ranks as Pro Football Focus' fourth-most favorable WR/CB matchup on the slate.

Agholor is a much better value on FanDuel with a 95% Bargain Rating, trailing only Quincy Enunwa and Antonio Brown in projected Plus/Minus at the wide receiver position. — Joe Holka

Bet to watch: Eagles -3.5 (+105)

Week 2 overreactions have begun. Fitzpatrick went to New Orleans and played out of his mind. Maybe the Bucs aren’t that bad? Foles and the Eagles struggled in primetime in front of America. Maybe they aren’t that good?

We like to celebrate the Bucs' accomplishment while completely ignoring how their defense got shredded through the air. We like to question Philadelphia, but Atlanta has incredible talent on the defensive side of the ball (although some of it won’t be there the rest of the season).

Now DeSean Jackson is in the concussion protocol (100-plus yards and two touchdowns in Week 1) for the Bucs, and the Eagles are coming to Florida with extra rest.

I'll take Philadelphia at a pretty low number to look marginally less sloppy.— Ken Barkley

Bet to watch: Bucs +3/3.5

Disclaimer: I'm about to go against Ken Barkley, and I'm scared.

I'm all for a good overreaction. They call me Mr. Overreaction. But this is not an overreaction to Week 1.

Preseason lookahead lines pegged this game at Philly -3, and that's exactly where it stands at the time of writing, even after the Bucs took down last year's should've-been-NFC-champion Saints on the road. If anything, I'd call this an under-reaction considering that win didn't buy Tampa even a half-point.

Now I am a little late to the party, and I do want that hook I missed. If it comes back I'll be on the Bucs +3.5. — Danny Donahue

Editor’s note: The opinions on this game are from the individual writers and are based on their research, analysis and perspective. They are independent of, and may not always match with, the algorithm-driven Best Bets from Sports Insights.