NFL Preseason Week 2 Pick- Tampa Bay Bucs at Jacksonville Jaguars

Dirty August 17, 2017

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The Bucs Look to Contend in NFC South in 2017

This Thursday’s NFL preseason action features a battle between two Florida teams. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to the East Coast of the state to face the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is a featured matchup on ESPN. BetAnySports opened Jacksonville as a two-point home favorite. The total line for this 8 p.m. start at EverBank Field was set at 41. The line has swung an amazing 4.5-points and the Buccaneers are now favored by 2.5-points. The total has also been bet down to 40.

Tampa Bay went 9-7 last season. That was both straight-up and against the spread on BetAnySports’ closing line. That still failed to secure a playoff spot in the rugged NFC. The bar has been raised for this season in the wide-open NFC South. The Bucs have quite a few weapons on the offensive side of the ball. The Buccaneers added veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson. They selected tight end OJ Howard in the first round of the draft.

While third-year quarterback Jameis Winston saw little action in last Friday’s 23-12 loss to Cincinnati, he still managed to complete 9-of-13 passing attempts for 99 yards. Backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick scored Tampa Bay’s first touchdown of the preseason on a six-yard run in the second quarter to give his team an early 9-3 lead. Mike Evans appeared to be in regular season form with a team-high four receptions for 58 yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars Look for 2-0 Start to Preseason

The Jaguars took a big step backwards in 2016 with a SU record of 3-13, but they were still above .500 ATS at 9-7. They got this year’s preseason off to a solid start with last Thursday’s 31-24 victory against the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. They closed as three-point road underdogs and the total went well OVER BetAnySports’ closing 39.5-point total line. Going back to Week 2 of last preseason, Jacksonville actually lost to Tampa Bay 27-21 as a three-point favorite at home.

This year’s matchup should feature a bit more playing time for each team’s starters so we should get a better look at Jaguars’ starting quarterback Blake Bortles after he completed 3-of-5 passes for 16 yards in last week’s game. Rookie first round pick Leonard Fournette made his debut last week and the former LSU running back rushed for 31 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. He will not play against Tampa Bay on Thursday due to a minor foot injury.

You should be able to get a better feel for which direction each of these teams is heading early in this game, but the final score will still be decided in the second half by backups. Go with the Buccaneers minus the two points on the road as the better all-around team.

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Tampa Bay	9-7	9-7	22.12	23.06	-0.94	3-5	6-2	7-8-1	4-4	3-4-1
Jacksonville	3-13	9-7	19.88	25.00	-5.12	4-4	5-3	10-6	6-2	4-4

Yards Per Point

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
TB	15.66	15.96	-0.3
JAC	16.85	12.87	3.98

Yards Per Pass

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
TB	11.05	11.54	-0.49
JAC	10.10	9.98	0.12

Yards Per Rush

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
TB	3.58	4.39	-0.81
JAC	4.16	3.82	0.34

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	9-7	4-4	5-3	9-7	3-5	6-2	22.13	23.06	-0.93
vs Conf	7-5	4-2	3-3	7-5	3-3	4-2	23.00	22.83	0.17
vs Div	4-2	2-1	2-1	3-3	1-2	2-1	22.17	23.17	-1.00
Last 3	1-2	1-0	0-2	1-2	0-1	1-1	20.33	24.33	-4.00

Jacksonville Jaguars

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	3-13	2-6	1-7	9-7	4-4	5-3	19.88	25.00	-5.12
vs Conf	2-10	2-4	0-6	7-5	3-3	4-2	20.25	25.50	-5.25
vs Div	2-4	2-1	0-3	4-2	2-1	2-1	25.17	24.83	0.34
Last 3	1-2	1-0	0-2	3-0	1-0	2-0	26.00	20.67	5.33

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	22.13	18	25.00	24
Away Team Road Passing vs Home Team Home Passing Defense	255.75	9	184.88	1
Away Team Road Rushing vs Home Team Home Rushing Defense	109.38	16	105.63	18
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	19.88	25	23.06	15
Home Team Home Passing vs Away Team Road Passing Defense	236.13	19	257.25	23
Home Team Home Rushing vs Away Team Road Rushing Defense	92.50	26	119.75	24

Name	Record	ATS	OU	Score	Rush	YPR	PA	CP	PY	TY	TO +/-
Tampa Bay	2-4	2-4	4-2	21.00	134.67	4.75	29.00	51.15	172.67	307.33	2.33
Jacksonville	4-2	4-2	4-2	26.33	111.67	3.72	31.00	61.83	213.67	325.33	1.00

Date	Away	Home	Score	Line	Total	OU Result	ARY	APY	ATY	ATT	HRY
Oct 11, 2015	JAC	TB	31-38	55	270	325	2	183	186	369	0
Dec 11, 2011	TB	JAC	14-41	110	170	280	7	116	209	325	2
Oct 28, 2007	JAC	TB	24-23	133	86	219	0	136	249	385	3
Nov 30, 2003	TB	JAC	10-17	77	144	221	1	135	224	359	1
Nov 15, 1998	TB	JAC	24-29	157	186	343	3	144	230	374	0
Nov 19, 1995	JAC	TB	16-17	87	263	350	1	145	101	246	0

No Trends to Report

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Jan 1, 2017	CAR	17-16	W	-3/44.5	L/U	112	188	300	128	207	335	-1	H
Dec 24, 2016	NO	24-31	L	3/53	L/O	89	260	349	123	294	417	2	A
Dec 18, 2016	DAL	20-26	L	6.5/47.5	W/U	52	224	276	185	264	449	3	A
Dec 11, 2016	NO	16-11	W	-2/51.5	W/U	104	166	270	46	248	294	-3	H
Dec 4, 2016	LAC	28-21	W	3/49	W/P	81	268	349	119	211	330	-1	A

Jacksonville Jaguars

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Jan 1, 2017	IND	20-24	L	6/48.5	W/U	182	288	470	94	290	384	0	A
Dec 24, 2016	TEN	38-17	W	4.5/43.5	W/O	84	331	415	58	205	263	0	H
Dec 18, 2016	HOU	20-21	L	3.5/39	W/O	67	83	150	79	308	387	-1	A
Dec 11, 2016	MIN	16-25	L	3/38	L/O	85	230	315	85	292	377	-1	H
Dec 4, 2016	DEN	10-20	L	3.5/38.5	L/U	154	179	333	104	102	206	3	H