The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a bleak outlook for playoff contention, except that they are surrounded by below-average teams in their division.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers still favored to make the playoffs
All of the losses that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have suffered in recent weeks have finally caught up to the betting odds a little. As news of Tom Brady’s divorce hit the Internet tabloids, the Buccaneers shortened to miss the NFL playoffs this season.
They have a record of 3-5 following their Thursday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens. However, TB is still a favorite to make the postseason. Their current odds ahead of Sunday’s Week 8 action are 4/7 (-175) to qualify for the postseason with bet365 sportsbook. Their odds of missing the playoffs are 29/20 with the same firm, odds that have shortened since we looked at this betting market early in October.
One reason that Tampa Bay is favored to make the postseason still is that their division is weak. TB’s fortunes will decline if their in-division rivals win in Week 8. Conversely, if their in-division rivals lose, TB’s outlook will improve. You can make the postseason in the NFL by virtue of winning your division.
This guy
The season isn’t over but this is a situation that we sniffed out pretty early. Writing on October 4th, 2022, we had the following to offer our readers:
If you ever needed more reason to cheer against Tom Brady, then check out our betting tip for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week. In this article, we will be focusing on their ante-post market with bet365 sportsbook. As we see it, the Buccaneers are actually in trouble when it comes to making the NFL playoffs — and the odds are long.
Quoting ourselves from October 4, 2022.
The odds at the time of the above-quoted article were 5 to 1 on TB missing the playoffs. Obviously, those odds have shortened with all of the failures that have come on the field. The loss to Baltimore is one thing but the Bucs also lost to the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers this month. Those were losses against two of the worst teams in the NFL.
What’s next for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
The Bucs will be at home for a couple of more games. They will host the LA Rams in Week 9 and then they will host Seattle Seahawks. If the Bucs can get to 5-5, then they will be in a position to regroup with their ensuing bye week. But you would expect a 1-1 record in the next two games and a 4-6 record overall heading into their bye.
Despite what our tweeter of the moment said above, the Bucs are not “big underdogs” against LA. In fact, TB are small favorites at -2.0 with bet365 for the Week 9 match-up.
