The NFL is back for the business end of the season as last season’s Super Bowl runners-up the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wildcard round.
The Eagles started the season brilliantly but ended up finishing second in the NFC East with an 11-6 record, while the Buccs claimed the winning spot in the NFC South but ended the campaign with a 9-8 record.
We’ll take a look at the match-up and provide you with our best free NFL betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash while you take in the action on the field.
Philadelphia have been on an absolute role this season, picking up where they left off last season when they dominated until falling at the last hurdle. But recent weeks have been increasingly difficult for the Eagles.
The Eagles won their first five games of the season beating New England Patriots 25-20, Minnesota 34-28, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-11, Washington Commanders 34-31 in overtime and Los Angeles Rams 23-14. Their first defeat and only defeat of the season came on the road at the New York Jets 20-14 in week 6.
But they have since bounced back with a 31-17 win over Miami Dolphins, 38-31 win over Washington again and then a 28-23 win over the Dallas Cowboys before a bye in week 10.
They then took on the Chiefs in a rematch from last year’s Super Bowl and claimed a stunning win on the road as Jalen Hurts put in a fantastic performance, before another overtime win over the Buffalo Bills earned them a 37-34 win.
However they were well beaten by the San Francisco 49ers at home in a 42-19 defeat to snap their second five-game winning streak of the season, before a second consecutive defeat to the Dallas Cowboys 13-33 sparked some concerns about their credentials. They then fell to a surprise 17-20 defeat against the Seattle Seahawks in week 15, but got back to winning ways against the Giants with a 33-25 win the following week.
They then fell to another defeat, losing 35-31 against the Arizona Cardinals in their final home game of the season with their playoff spot is already confirmed, before losing the final game last time out against the New York Giants.
Tampa Bay started the season positively with two wins, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 20-17 and then following it up with a 27-17 win over the Chicago Bears.
The first defeat of the season came against the Eagles in week 3, before a 26-9 win in week 4 over the New Orleans Saints send them into a bye week in a positive mood.
They returned and struggled massively though, losing four games in a row against the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans.
The Buccs stopped the rot in the next game with a 20-6 win over the Tennessee Titans, but then lost their next two against the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts before going on a stunning run of five wins in their final six games of the season.
Tampa earned wins against the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Panthers again in the final game to earn their playoff spot, with a defeat to the new Orleans Saints on New Year’s Eve stopping a six-game winning run.
The Eagles season has been very Jekyll and Hyde to say the least, but what can be said is that when they’ve gone into a game with most people expecting them to win they’ve usually performed.
The meeting between the two teams earlier this season was quite comfortable for Philadelphia as they waltzed to victory in this stadium, and they’ll be expecting to do similar here again.
Philadelphia entered Week 18 with a +22 point differential that was seventh in the NFC, although it was tied for the second-best record. For reference, the Eagles had a +133 differential last season when they went 14-3.
The biggest difference is on defense. Philly scored 477 points and gave up 344 last season, but it entered Week 18 having scored 423 and already given up 401. The Eagles lost both of their coordinators (Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon) to head-coaching jobs, as well as some key personnel on defense.
With that said nobody expected Tampa to be in the playoffs at the start of the season, so the Eagles should pick up a fairly comfortable win here.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
This season the Eagles have averaged a total of 25.47 points scored per game this season, while defensively they have allowed 25.17 points per game.
Alternatively Tampa Bay have scored an average of 20.47 points per game, while defensively they have allowed an average of 19.11 points per game.
The meeting between the two teams earlier this season saw the teams combine for 36 points, but the 45 point mark has been matched or surpassed in just four Tampa Bay games this season while it has landed in 11 games for the Eagles.
Expect plenty of points here, so back the over.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
About the Author
A soccer and MMA fanatic who believes the eye test far outweighs statistics, apart from when it comes to betting. With experience writing for several years, Daniel is an avid sports fan but also enjoys obstacle courses, music and views from a height.
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