Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
Time: NOON (CT)
Spread: PHI -3.5
Total: 44

Odds c/o 5dimes

The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles won its week 1 matchup over the Atlanta Falcons 18-12 and now in Week 2 Philly travels south to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 3.5-point favorites according to NFL oddsmakers at 5dimes. The game will air at Noon (CT) on FOX, and it has an over/under set at 44 points according to 5dimes.

Philadelphia will be without Darren Sproles this week, as he is ruled out with a hamstring injury. Sproles rushed for just 10 yards in Week 1, so this may not be much of a factor. In the Week 1 win, Nick Foles threw 19 of 34 for 117 yards but failed to throw a TD while suffering two sacks. Philly had just 222 total yards offense in the game, with Jay Ajayi bailing the team out with two TD runs as part of his 62-yard, 15 carry performance.

Zach Ertz led all receivers with 48 yards on his five catches, but Philly also committed two fumbles, one of which was lost as Kemal Ishmael recovered it for Atlanta. The Eagles defense was strong with its seven sacks and 9.5 team tackles for loss, but it has to be concerning that Atlanta was able to rack up the passing yards with its connection of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. The Eagles will need its secondary to step up big time in Week 2 against Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bucs.

The Buccaneers won its week 1 game against the New Orleans Saints 48-40 on the road. Now back in Tampa, it will look to dismantle the defending champions as just 3.5-point dogs in the game. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 21 of 28 (75 percent) for completion while amassing 417 yards and four TDs (with not a single interception). Fitzpatrick’s passer rating of 156.3 was stellar, and he was bolstered by his strong core of receivers, paced by Mike Evans with 147 yards and a TD, and also by DeSean Jackson who caught five passes for 146 yards and two TDs.

Chris Godwin added a fourth receiving TD and 41 yards on his three receptions. Outstandingly, the Bucs averaged 19.9 yards per reception on its 21 catches, and save an unrecovered fumble by Godwin, Tampa Bay’s offense was about as on-point as it has been. Look for a close game between the Bucs and the Eagles, but Philly should be out on a mission to even its record after that disappointing loss in its opener. We like the Eagles to prevail as oddsmakers do, though this game will likely be decided by less than a touchdown.

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