The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers snapped their 2-game losing streak and improved to 7-3 on the season after defeating the New York Giants, 30-10, this past Monday night. Tampa Bay was outstanding on the defensive end against the Giants and had no trouble pulling away after a 5-yard TD reception by Mike Evans gave Tampa Bay a 24-10 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. Tampa Bay outgained New York by a 402-215 margin and won the turnover battle by a 3-1 margin. Leading the way for the Buccaneers was QB Tom Brady who completed 30 of 46 passes for 307 yards, 2 TD, & 1 INT.
On the season, Tampa Bay is averaging 30.9 ppg on 415.6 total yards per game (324.4 passing yds/g; 91.2 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Tampa Bay has been led by QB Tom Brady who has completed 67.1% of his passes for 3,177 yards (322.8 yds/g), 29 TD, & 8 INT. The top receiving threats for the Buccaneers have been Chris Goodwin (63 rec, 782 yards, 5 TD), Mike Evans (47 rec, 679 yards, 10 TD), Antonio Brown (29 rec, 418 yards, 4 TD), & Rob Gronkowski (22 rec, 255 yards, 4 TD). Leading the way for the Tampa Bay backfield has been Leonard Fournette who has 521 rushing yards & 4 TD while also hauling in 44 receptions for 323 yards. Antonio has missed the past few games due to ankle injury and is currently doubtful for this matchup.
Defensively, Tampa Bay is holding their opponents to an average of 22.2 ppg on 336.2 total yards per game (257.8 passing yds/g; 78.4 rushing yds/g).
The Indianapolis Colts won their 3rd straight game and improved to 6-5 on the season after defeating the Buffalo Bills, 41-15, this past Sunday. Indianapolis had no trouble generating offense on the ground against the Bills and easily pulled away after going into halftime with a 24-7 lead. Indianapolis outgained Buffalo by a 370-311 margin and won the turnover battle by a 4-0 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Colts was Jonathan Taylor who had 185 rushing yards & 4 TD on 32 carries while also catching a TD.
On the season, Indianapolis is averaging 28.1 ppg on 376.0 total yards per game (228.1 passing yds/g; 147.9 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Indianapolis has been led by RB Jonathan Taylor who had 1122 rushing yards & 13 TD on 193 carries while also hauling in 32 receptions for 322 yards & 2 TD. QB Carson Wentz has completed 63.0% of his passes for 2484 yards (238.4 yds/g), 18 TD, & 3 INT. The top receiving threats for the Colts have been Michael Pittman Jr. (57 rec, 752 yards, 5 TD), Zach Pascal (32 rec, 328 yards, 2 TD), Mo Alie-Cox (15 rec, 211 yards, 4 TD), & Nyheim Hines (26 rec, 204 yards).
Defensively, Indianapolis is holding their opponents to an average of 22.3 ppg on 371.7 total yards per game (260.1 passing yds/g; 111.6 rushing yds/g).
The Buccaneers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 road games. The Colts are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall.
Tampa Bay is still team to beat in the NFC in my opinion, however, there is no question that the Buccaneers have had trouble on the road this season which includes recent losses to both New Orleans & Washington. Tampa Bay has a great rush defense, however, it doesn’t look like anyone can slow down Jonathan Taylor right now and even if Tampa Bay stacks the box to ensure Taylor doesn’t beat them, the Colts have gotten solid play out of Carson Wentz who I think can have success against a Tampa Bay secondary that has struggled at times this season. I expect this to be a close game, however, with Tampa Bay’s road struggles, I think the play here is to take the Colts and the points. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05