Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Preview, Week 1 Odds, Super Bowl Chances & Schedule

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Preview, Week 1 Odds, Super Bowl Chances & Schedule
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl odds
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers win total
- NFC South winner odds
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defied the odds as Super Bowl champions last season. This season though, they’re setting their sights even higher: at the seemingly impossible, ever elusive double – which has been few and far in between in the league’s modern era. In fact, no team this century has won back-to-back Super Bowls since the New England Patriots accomplished it in 2003 and 2004 with none other than quarterback …_drumroll….wait for it…_Tom Brady at the helm.
Tampa Bay’s bid to win consecutive Super Bowls isn’t an idle boast, make no mistake about it. On the contrary, it’s a serious objective to which the organisation is utterly committed to with more than just words. Why else would they come out of the pocket to bring back all 22 starters in 2021 – from Tom Brady to Rob Gronkowski and Antonio Brown (to name a few) – if they didn’t genuinely mean to make a run for it?
And so, the gauntlet thrown down, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quite rightly emerge as one of the top five bets in the betting. According to multiple top-rated sportsbooks, the Buccaneers are pegged at +600 on the Super Bowl odds board to win a second straight Lombardi trophy. In addition, they’re the top bet to win the NFC at +275.
Buccaneers Super Bowl Odds & Other Futures Markets 2021
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl Odds
No hyperbole can sufficiently describe what Brady accomplished last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In hindsight, it was made all the more impressive with the season unfolding against the backdrop of an unprecedented global pandemic that literally tipped the world off of its axis. That Brady at 40-something years of age, with no training camps, no preseason games, no team workouts, no team bonding exercises and no in-person coaching sessions could turnaround a franchise that finished 7-9-0 SU into a contender a year later is remarkable. That he would then go on to lead the franchise all the way to Super Bowl glory…well, that just boggles the mind. It’s the stuff of fantasy.
The Bucs couldn’t have scripted it better had they written the fairy tale run themselves. After finishing 11-5-0 SU on the season and second behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South, the Bucs entered the playoffs as the fifth seed. They dismissed the Washington Football Team, the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers on the road before throttling the highly fancied Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 at home in one of the most hyped-up Super Bowls in recent history. Billed as a seminal moment, the changing of the guard showdown between the old versus the new or simply “The Goat vs. The Kid,” it’s safe to say few could have predicted the lopsided outcome. It’s ripple effects were felt for some time with market operators taking a hit after unanimously cornering the game with the Chiefs.
It was singularly one of the most inspiring feats by a quarterback in the history of the game and, arguably, his most meaningful career Super Bowl win. Since Brady led the Patriots to the double in his 20s, which marked his second and third career Super Bowl triumphs, he’s gone on to add another four Super Bowl rings to his glittering collection – six with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers. He’s the only quarterback to have won Super Bowl titles in his 20s, 30s and 40s.
How much time (if at all) Brady spends in contemplation about his legendary career, the immediate future or his inevitable place in the history books, only those in his inner circle that are privy to his deepest thoughts will know for certain. The rest of us can only speculate about such things while at the same time hanging our hats on what we do actually know about “Tom Terrific” or just simply “The Goat” – and that is that he’s the most winningest player in the NFL as far as Super Bowls go. Never mind he’s won more Super Bowls than any other franchise in the league.
If that’s not a sign to never underestimate Brady, what is? Bear in mind that he’ll have all 22 of his Super-Bowl-winning mates returning. As well, head coach Bruce Arians commandeering the ship from the side-lines alongside his BFF Todd Bowles directing the Buccaneers defense which was one of the stoutest outfits in the league last season and a real credit to the well-respected defensive coordinator.
For complete Super Bowl odds click here
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Division Odds
The Buccaneers’ favourable SBLVI odds are wholly underscored by their ever more favourable odds to win the NFC South division. As it currently stands, the NFC South is firmly cornered in Tampa Bay’s camp at -200 to clinch the crown and to be fair, it doesn’t look like they’re going to be faced with huge competition within the division this season.
The defending divisional champions, the New Orleans Saints, have seen their stock value drop in the betting ever since Drew Brees announced his retirement at the end of last season. That devaluation is further exacerbated by the as yet unanswered quarterback situation in New Orleans, although it’s debatable whether either Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston winning the starting job is going to improve the Saints’ odds substantially.
The Carolina Panthers, in the meanwhile, are setting on their second quarterback experiment in as many seasons after sending Teddy Bridgewater packing. In his stead, the Panthers have picked up Sam Darnold who is coming off a three-year stretch with the New York Jets that leaves much to be desired. Whether Darnold was a victim of the Adam Gase era in New York or he’s simply not cut out for the starting job will be revealed in Carolina this season.
Elsewhere, the Atlanta Falcons strike an interesting pose on the NFL odds board. The Falcons are under a new coaching staff and they’ve parted ways with standout wideout Julio Jones. But that’s as far as owner Arthur Blank’s tinkering with the team goes, meaning they’re confident about what they have right now. So, the signs are clear: the Falcons are all-in for 2021 with veteran Matt Ryan at the helm and a slightly upgraded roster in all facets of the game. However, when the Falcons have all too often flattered to deceive in the past, it’s hard to buy what they’re selling.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Win Total
In keeping with the Buccaneers’ odds in Super Bowl and Divisional betting markets, season win totals set the bar similarly high with a projected total of 12 wins that includes Over and Under odds of -110 respectively at DraftKings. The projected total is merely one win greater than last season’s 11-win output with the extra win added in market projections to accommodate for the expanded NFL schedule that will see all teams play 17 games over the course of an 18-week regular season for the first time.
Compare the Bucs win total to that of the Saints, who are projected to 9 wins, or the Falcons, who are projected to 7.5 wins, or the Panthers, who are projected to 6 wins, and it further presses home this notion that the Bucs have no immediate challenger in the division according to bookmakers.
Should the Buccaneers come good on this perception, one could assume that the six games they’re slated to play against divisional opponents are more or less theirs to win or lose. If those divisional contests go to plan, the Bucs would therefore need to win six or seven games out of the remaining 11 non-divisional games at the very least in order to match or crack the 12-win mark. And as luck would have it, the Buccaneers are estimated to have the 29th toughest NFL schedule according to Strength of Schedule (SOS) calculations. Put it another way, it’s the third easiest schedule in the league with a projected difficulty of .465 (based on the combined record of all teams the previous year).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Schedule & Odds
Brady has turned winning into an enviable habit that few NFL players have emulated with similar consistency over an extended period of time. To look into the archives is to get a sense of just how dominant Brady was within the Patriots dynasty that ruled ruthlessly over the AFC East for almost two decades. Of course, one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers doesn’t a dynasty make, not even if it did culminate with a Super Bowl. Nevertheless, it’s still quite the achievement and it certainly sets up Brady along with the Buccaneers as viable contenders in 2021. The Bucs went 15-5-0 SU overall and 12-8-0 ATS with a 9.1 winning margin on average. The total went 11-9-0 through 20 games.
In order to pull off the double, the Bucs will need to navigate a successful course through the 17-game regular season which begins on a blockbuster showdown at home to the Dallas Cowboys with the Buccaneers laying 6.5 points. After the Cowboys, the other non-divisional opponents include the LA Rams, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Washington, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. Of these 11 teams, only four reached the playoffs last season – Chicago Bears, Washington Football Team, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills. Moreover, save for the Bills, the remaining three were eliminated in the first round, including the Football Team after they lost to the Bucs. Four teams represent Brady’s former stomping ground in the AFC East and that will be an advantage for the veteran signal caller. And lastly, where this season is concerned, eight of the aforementioned 11 non-divisional opponents are teams that are either under new coaching and management, fielding a new quarterback or starting a rookie quarterback and rebuilding various facets of the roster. If that’s not advantage Brady and Bucs, what is?
Week | Opponent | Spread | Total |
---|---|---|---|
1 | vs. Dallas | -6.5 | 51.5 |
2 | vs. Atlanta | -8 | 52 |
3 | @ LA Rams | +1 | 50 |
4 | @ New England | -3 | 49 |
5 | vs. Miami | -7.5 | 50.5 |
6 | @ Philadelphia | -7.5 | 50.5 |
7 | vs. Chicago | -10 | 48 |
8 | @ New Orleans | -2.5 | 51.5 |
9 | BYE | ||
10 | @ Washington | -7 | 50.5 |
11 | vs. NYG | -10 | 50.5 |
12 | @ Indianapolis | OTB | OTB |
13 | @ Atlanta | -4.5 | 52 |
14 | vs Buffalo | -4 | 53.5 |
15 | vs. New Orleans | -7 | 52 |
16 | @ Carolina | -6.5 | 51 |
17 | @ NYJ | +8.5 | 47 |
18 | vs. Carolina | OTB | OTB |
Nikki Adams is a freelance sports writer that’s honed in on the world of sports betting. She joined OddsChecker in 2021 after having covered a number of major American sports, including NFL and NCAAF, for several other publications in the industry. When she’s not looking for the best betting angles and writing engaging and insightful articles, she’s likely on a tennis court or binging on reality TV.