Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York Giants Betting Preview for Week 8
Monday, November 2, 2020, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, 8:15 p.m. ET
Buccaneers at Giants Betting Preview: Buccaneers (-12), Giants (+12)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Quarterback Tom Brady is fully settled in with the Tampa Bay offense, as evidenced by his 15 touchdowns passes and just one interception over the past five games. Brady threw four touchdown passes and matched his season high of 369 yards last week in a 45-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Buccaneers (5-2) rank third in the NFL in scoring offense (31.7 points per game) and figure to be more potent when recently signed wideout Antonio Brown becomes eligible to play next week.
Tampa Bay will be without Chris Godwin (25 receptions in four games) after he underwent surgery for a broken left index finger, but three-time Pro Bowler Mike Evans (six touchdown passes) is finally getting healthy after dealing with an ankle injury. Running back Ronald Jones II (506 yards, four touchdowns) is on pace for a 1,000-yard season in his third NFL season.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (team-best 5.5 sacks) and linebacker Devin White (four sacks, team-high 61 tackles) are standing out on defense.
The Buccaneers are a hot team as the halfway point of the NFL season arrives, having outscored the Green Bay Packers and Raiders 83-30 over the past two games. Tampa Bay is just 2-2 on the road with losses to the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears.
New York Giants
The Giants (1-6) are dealing with turmoil on all fronts, beginning with the fact they let an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead slip away last week in a 22-21 setback against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Then there were two COVID-19 incidents — the first involving players not wearing masks or practicing social distance at a bar and the second being left guard Will Hernandez’s positive test result on Thursday. The latter case led the club to ask eight players — many of them offensive linemen — and two assistant coaches to stay away from the facility.
The problems on the line could be a factor against the Bucs, but quarterback Daniel Jones has displayed great running ability, producing 166 yards on just 11 rushes over the past two games. Jones is the club’s leading rusher with 296 yards while Wayne Gallman (110 yards) will be the likely starter after Devonta Freeman (ankle) was hurt against Philadelphia.
The Giants would like to see Jones make progress as a passer, as he has been intercepted seven times while throwing for 1,410 yards and five scores this season.
New York allows a middling average of 24.9 points per game and has mixed solid efforts (holding three opponents under 20 points) with shaky performances in which they allowed 37 and 36 points. Linebacker Blake Martinez has been a tackle machine with 73 stops in his first season with the Giants after topping 140 in each of the past three seasons for the Packers.
Buccaneers at Giants Betting Pick for Week 8
Tampa Bay is a heavy favorite, and it is hard to see the team overlooking the Giants even though an NFC South clash with the Saints will follow six days later — especially with Brady on a tear and the club being so dominant the past two weeks against better opponents.
The Giants were close to recording back-to-back victories before the collapse against the Eagles. With the COVID-19 distractions going on, it would rank as a major upset and a tremendous coaching job by first-year leader Joe Judge if New York were to prevail.
Buccaneers at Giants Betting Pick:
Buccaneers 31, Giants 10
Buccaneers at Giants Best Bet for Week 8
Tampa Bay has the offense clicking and could become the third team to tally 30 or more against the Giants. Thus, the true barometer here is how well New York plays on offense. The answer is likely not well enough, so look for this total to fall just below the under.
Buccaneers at Giants Best Bet: UNDER 45 total points (-110)
–Field Level Media
