Buccaneers vs. Cardinals Odds, Picks, and Prediction
Buccaneers vs. Cardinals Odds
| Buccaneers Odds | -7.5 |
| Cardinals Odds | +7.5 |
| Over/Under | 41 |
| Date | Sun, Dec. 25 |
| Time | 8:20 p.m. |
| TV | NBC |
On Christmas Day, NFL fans will be treated to a Sunday Night Football battle between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals. Heading into Sunday, Tampa Bay owns a half-game lead in the NFC South division over the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints. Arizona has been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. Though both of these teams are below .500 on the season, oddsmakers are expecting a comfortable win for the Buccaneers, pricing Tampa Bay as 7.5-point road favorites on the spread.
Let’s take a deeper look at the matchup to see where NFL bettors can find value at sportsbooks in this contest.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Heading into Sunday, the Buccaneers have lost back-to-back games to the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals, creating the possibility that this group could suffer their second three-game losing streak of the season when they travel to Arizona for this matchup. Though Tom Brady had escaped blame for Tampa Bay’s struggles for much of the season, his four interceptions across the last two weeks have certainly hurt this offense’s ability to thrive. However, this offensive line could see a boost in production in this spot, with left tackle Donovan Smith ruled out for this prime time affair. Smith’s replacement, Josh Wells, is far from elite, but he has allowed only one sack in 237 pass-blocking snaps since the beginning of 2021.
Defensively, the Buccaneers have struggled in recent weeks, allowing 69 points in their two most recent losses. However, they will get a much easier matchup in Week 16 when they face Trace McSorley, who will be making his first career NFL start. Tampa Bay will be without defensive tackle Vita Vea, but could return defensive backs Mike Edwards and Antoine Winfield Jr. – each of whom are listed as questionable ahead of kickoff.
Arizona Cardinals
After beating the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football in Week 7, the Cardinals improved to 3-4. Since that point, Arizona is 1-6, with their lone victory coming against the Los Angeles Rams – a team that is 1-7 in their last eight games. Since Week 8, Arizona ranks 30th in offensive EPA/play, and has scored 15 points or fewer in three of their last four contests. McSorley has thrown 39 career pass attempts in the NFL, tossing zero touchdowns and throwing three interceptions. His offensive line could be down two starters for this contest as well, if Kelvin Beachum is unable to suit-up – he is currently listed as questionable after logging a limited practice on Friday.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cardinals have also been underwhelming, ranking 20th in defensive EPA/play across their last seven games. On Christmas, this unit will be without defensive lineman Zach Allen, who graded as the 25th-best player at his position this fall, per Pro Football Focus, before suffering an injury in Week 14. One of Arizona’s better secondary players, Byron Murphy Jr., will miss another game, having last played in Week 9. This is a defense with no shortage of vulnerabilities heading into this matchup.
Buccaneers vs. Cardinals – Picks & Predictions
Tom Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, should be able to lead the Buccaneers to victory this evening against Trace McSorley, who has barely thrown seven pass attempts as a professional quarterback. However, it is extremely difficult for bettors to justify placing money on the Buccaneers to cover more than a touchdown against anyone, given their recent results. Instead, bettors should turn their attention to the total. In Tampa Bay’s five wins this season, none of their game totals have totaled greater than 37 points – take the under.
PICK: Under 41 (-110, DraftKings)