Seattle Seahawks at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, FL
Sunday, December 26, 2010, 4:15 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: Bucs -6
Current Line: Bucs -6
Opening Total: 42.5
Current Total: 44
Money Line: Bucs -260 / Seahawks +220
The Seattle Seahawks (6-8) certainly have an easier road to the playoffs than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-6) despite having two less wins, although both teams could definitely use a victory here when they meet on Sunday. The Buccaneers (-6) have dropped two straight home games to put them in a must-win situation in order to stay in the race for the final wild-card berth while the Seahawks remain tied atop the NFC West standings with St. Louis.
The Rams play San Francisco in another key divisional game that could put the 49ers into a three-way tie if Seattle loses at Tampa Bay. The Seahawks then host St. Louis in the regular-season finale next week while Arizona visits San Francisco. Meanwhile, the Bucs need a little more help down the stretch, as they are battling the Giants and Packers for the last spot.
Tampa suffered a disappointing 23-20 overtime loss at home to Detroit last week, snapping an NFL record 26-game road losing streak for the Lions. The Bucs saw Detroit kicker Dave Rayner kick the game-tying field goal from 28 yards out as time expired in regulation followed by the game-winning 34-yarder in OT after Connor Barth had converted two straight field-goal attempts to give them a 20-17 lead.
Quarterback Josh Freeman completed 21 of 32 passes for 251 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions for Tampa Bay in the loss while running back LeGarrette Blount rushed for 110 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown. But it was the team’s defense that could not stop the Lions, most notably wide receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Maurice Morris. Johnson totaled 10 catches for 152 yards and Morris rushed for 109 yards on 15 carries and scored.
Seattle has also had a difficult time stopping opponents lately, dropping two straight by a combined score of 74-39. The OVER has cashed in the last seven games for the Seahawks, who have won just twice straight-up and against the spread during that stretch. They had given up just 17.8 points per game in going 4-2 to start the season but have surrendered an average of 32 in losing six of eight.
Offensively, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has also struggled for Seattle. Hasselbeck has tossed 10 interceptions in the last four games, and he threw for a season-worst 71 yards in last week’s 34-18 home loss to Atlanta. Backup Charlie Whitehurst replaced him with the Seahawks trailing 34-10 but will return to the bench for this game against the Bucs, who are 3-4 in the last seven meetings. Seattle is 5-2 against the spread in those games with the total going UNDER every time.
Now that you have read this football betting preview featuring the Buccaneers & Seahawks, make sure to check out the NFL odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
