Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday Night Football Betting Preview

Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday Night Football Betting Preview

Cole Paganelli
3 years ago
2 min read
Dallas Cowboys vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday Night Football Betting Preview

The Dallas Cowboys start their season against the 2020 Super Bowl Champions. A tough task to start your season with, but the Cowboys seem to relish the challenge. This is the first time we’ll get Dak Prescott since a season-ending injury in 2020.

The Buccaneers are riding a high heading into the season after winning the Super Bowl. However, it’s a brand new season, and they’re facing a great offense. Tampa Bay’s defense has been a source of strength before, but now they’ll face Prescott and Elliott. 

With the Buccaneers coming in as 8-point favorites at home, what’s the best pick at the sportsbook?

Dallas will need to establish dominance early

The key for the Cowboys in this one is making their presence known early. This means attacking the secondary, pounding the football, and moving down the field easily. Now that Dak Prescott has the reigns, coach Mike McCarthy needs to turn him loose. The wide receiving duo of CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper needs to get open often. Essentially, whatever the Cowboys can do to overwhelm Tampa’s defense needs to happen.

Spread’s over the last sixteen games haven’t been good to Dallas, mainly because of injuries. They went 5-11 ATS in their last sixteen, but you’ll have to remember most of those games were without Prescott. They’re only getting spotted eight points in the game against Tampa Bay, not a lot of wiggle room there. 

Tampa Bay looks for a hot start under Tom Brady

It must be nice for the Buccaneers, knowing they start the season with the best QB in NFL history. Tom Brady hasn’t lost a step yet and still has one of the most prolific minds in football. He’ll use that intelligence to navigate the holes in the Cowboy offense. He’s got tons of threats at his disposal as well. Antonio Brown, Mike Evans, and Chris Godwin round out the top three.

Tampa Bay is 5-1 ATS in their last six games at home, giving us a ton of confidence to bet on them. This is a team that was able to beat the Kansas City Chiefs with ease in the Superbowl. Although nothing is certain, Tampa Bay beating the Chiefs 31-9 in the Superbowl is an indication they can cover spreads.

My pick for Thursday Night Football: Buccaneers -8, UNDER

Although the Cowboys have their two best offensive players back in the lineup, we’ve got to take the Buccaneers here. One of our first concerns was that Tampa Bay started the 2020 season with a loss. However, we don’t expect that to be the case here, as their defense improved from 2020.

Tampa Bay is at home after a huge Super Bowl win. They’ll only need to win by slightly over a touchdown, and they have an offensive advantage. Dallas is just too outmatched here, and they aren’t spotted enough points for me to take them. Take the Buccaneers and the under, as these two have hit the under in five of their last six games.

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