Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Washington Football Team prediction, NFL Playoff NFC Wild Card game preview
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Washington Football Team Broadcast
Date: Saturday, January 9
Game Time: 8:15 ET
Venue: FedEx Field, Landover, MD
Network: NBC
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(5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5) vs (4) Washington Football Team (7-9) NFC Wild Card Game Preview
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Why The Washington Football Team Will Win The NFC Wild Card
The defense is really just that good.
The Tampa Bay defense is tremendous, and that’s okay. Washington has no problem whatsoever getting into a low-scoring defensive battle that grinds things down a bit and puts a premium on ball security and capitalizing on key moments.
The Football Team has the second-best D in the NFL with a phenomenal pass rush that could and should get to Tom Brady on a semi-consistent basis, and it’s going to force the Bucs to be great on the ground.
No one has thrown for more than 200 yards in any of the last three games against WFT – and that includes Seattle – and only the Rams and Steelers were able to hit 300 on this secondary.
And Washington beat Pittsburgh.
Again, turnovers really, really matter here, and again, Chase Young and the pass rush will be a big deal.
How did New Orleans beat Tampa Bay twice in easy fashion? Pass rush, takeaways – three in each win. How did the Rams get it done? Pass rush, two takeaways.
Tampa Bay is 1-4 when turning it over multiple times, and 10-0 when it doesn’t.
Washington has forced multiple takeaways n five of its last seven games.
However …
– WhyTampa Bay Will Win
– What’s Going to Happen, Prediction
NEXT: Why The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Will Win The NFC Wild Card
Why The Tampa Bay Buccaneers Will Win The NFC Wild Card
You really want to trust a gimpy Alex Smith to pull this off?
He’s one of the most wonderful sports stories of 2020 with the way he managed to come back from a horrific leg injury to lead the Football Team into the playoffs. However, he’s hurting, questionable, and will still probably try to give it a go.
Against any other defense, Washington would rely on Antonio Gibson and the ground game, expect its own defense to dominate and hope that the right combination of pitches could add up into a gem of a game.
But Tampa Bay is No. 1 in the NFL against the run.
The Bucs have only allowed more than 100 yards on the ground four times, and it didn’t matter all that much except for one of the losses to New Orleans.
A fast start matters here. If Tom Brady can get the quick, short-range passing game moving and create an early tempo and take any sort of a lead, Washington is in big, big trouble.
The receiving corps – even with a banged up Mike Evans – is starting to hum, the Bucs offense has been a force over the last three games, and the firepower is there to take this game to a place the Football Team can’t go.
– What’s Going to Happen, Prediction
NEXT: What’s Going To Happen In The NFC Wild Card
What’s Going To Happen In The NFC Wild Card
Ha ha ha … look at the 7-9 team that got into the playoffs over the Arizona Cardinals.
BE … CAREFUL.
Washington really does have the defense to make this a battle, and in a lot of ways, it’s playing with house money. No one is expecting anything, the franchise is in a transition to a new quarterback of some sort after the Dwayne Haskins disaster, and here come Tom Brady and the red hot Buccaneers rolling into to town to get through the formality of this before dealing with either Green Bay or maybe New Orleans.
– CFN Experts Picks: NFL Wild Card Weekend
The Football Team has got to win the turnover margin, it has to keep this game in the 20s, and while Brady is certainly used to playing in bad weather in January, getting those the 30ish degree weather in DC on Saturday night won’t hurt.
But Washington just won’t have the offensive pop.
The defense will keep this from getting out of hand, but the Tampa Bay D will be every bit as good, and Brady will fight through a few rough patches for two good scoring drives to take over.
And no, Bruce Arians won’t be taking out TB12 for Nate Sudfeld.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Washington Football Team NFC Wild Card Prediction, Line
Tampa Bay 24, Washington 16
Bet on Tampa Bay vs Washington with BetMGM
Tampa Bay -8.5, o/u: 45
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Must See Rating: 3.5
5: One Night in Miami
1: Call Me Kat
