Lions vs Buccaneers Prediction: Back the home side to find a way

Sunday comes around and we start with a nice little appetiser as Tampa Bay head up to Mo-Town to take on the Lions.

@NFLGirlUK previews the encounter and gives us her thoughts ahead of the 20:00 kick-off...

This is heart-warming to see, and it is unfortunate that only one of these teams will advance onto the next round. Baker Mayfield just completely rejuvenated this Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad and helped demolish the Philadelphia Eagles with ease in the Wild Card round.

Meanwhile, Jared Goff got revenge on his former team with the Detroit Lions winning a playoff game for the first team in a very long time. Both teams have inspiring stories, and they are sure to give each other all that they have.

Starting with the Buccaneers, they don’t always pop off the page at you. Mayfield has just rallied this team and has inspired confidence that they can get the job done no matter the circumstances. Mayfield threw for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions thanks to a ridiculously talented pass catching core.

Mike Evans broke 1,000 yards for another consecutive season, Chris Godwin broke 1,000 later in the year, and three other players surpassed 380 receiving yards as well.

The problem early on in the season was their lack of a rushing attack, but even that turned it up a notch later in the year. Rachaad White ended the season with 990 rushing yards and six touchdowns and averaged 3.6 yards per carry.

When he gets going on the ground, Tampa Bay’s entire offense changes for the better. On the other end, their defense was great. They haven’t allowed over 23 points since Week 14.

The Lions know that this is going to be a tough battle with an improving Buccaneers defense. It was already tough when they went up against them back in Week 6 and emerged victorious with a 20-6 final score.

Luckily, they basically have two separate 1,000-yard rushers on top of a quarterback that threw for 4,575 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. Goff has proven that he can get the job done and simultaneously protect the football.

Detroit has helped make his job easier by establishing a consistent run game behind a dominant offensive line. David Montgomery played in 14 games and rushed for 1,015 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Jahmyr Gibbs played in 15 games and rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both of them did this despite missing time and splitting carries with one another. That’s a scary sight for opposing teams. This isn’t even mentioning their superstar wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown either, who had 1,500 receiving yards.

Looking at this match-up, I feel like the Detroit Lions will find a way to come out on top. Detroit didn’t beat Tampa Bay by a whole-lot earlier in the season, but their defense limited them to only six points and halted their run game.

The Buccaneers have to establish a run game just to keep it close, because if they allow Detroit to get going early on, they’re going to have a long night. There’s no better team in the league than Detroit when it comes to playing with a lead. That’s an area that Tampa Bay wants to avoid.

Lions vs Buccaneers Odds:

The Lions were just about able to get over the line last week and their reward is to face a Buccaneers squad who beat-up on a Philadelphia team who were going in the wrong direction. The traders think this is a better game for the home team than last week, making them the 6.5pt favourites compared to just 3.5 a week-ago. On the Money Line, that equates to 1/3 for the home win and 12/5 for the upset.

You can see in the anytime Touchdown market that the running backs are expected to have a good day with Jahmyr Gibbs at 8/11 and David Montgomery at 8/11 for the Lions and the Buccs' Rachaad White is also at Even-money. Offense is expected to be on-top with the Total Points number set at 48.5.

Bet 1 - Amon-Ra St. Brown to score a Touchdown anytime @ Evens

The third-player out of USC had a mighty-fine season and is the main-man in the Detroit wide-receiver corps. He caught seven passes for 110 on nine targets in the 24-23 win over the Rams last weekend but didn't find the End Zone. He had caught a TD pass in four-straight matches up until the game and he's found pay dirt in 63% of the games played in the regular season. The numbers seem to suggest Even-money is a value look.

Bet 2 - Detroit to win by 1-6 points @ 18/5

I think the home-side get it done but I do not think it will be easy. This is why I've plumped for a relatively big price in the Winning Margin market, as we've seen all-season long that the Lions seem to keep it close and let teams hang around. This feels like a fourth-quarter game and the better team will find a way.

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