Buccaneers: Analyzing potential changes in the point spread
By Brian DeFeo
Week Twelve Tampa Bay Bucs at Atlanta Falcons
Vegas Spread: Falcons (-6.5)
Coming off of a late season bye, and practically two straight bye weeks, the Bucs face the division rival Atlanta Falcons. As many of you know the Atlanta Falcons participated in the Super Bowl and then forgot how to finish a football game. The Bucs beat the Falcons in week one of last season but got shelled at home on Thursday Night Football. That’s how division games go however. They always go from one end of the spectrum to the other.
The Falcons have a top offense in the league but when you can pressure Matt Ryan you can comeback from 25 points down. The Patriots proved that, and the Bucs can bring the pressure. Their defense has shown they can play well but if you don’t turn it over you can score against them. The Falcons drafted defense with their top two picks to try and give Vic Beasley some help on the other side.
The Bucs will have three chances to beat the Super Bowl teams this season and with the familiarity to the Falcons the divisional games should be closer. These are huge games which basically count as 1.5 games in the standings. Ultimately, the Bucs bring the spread a bit closer, with Atlanta still the favorite at home.