Atlanta at Tampa Bay Week 9 Betting Pick & Prediction

Four days after collecting a much-needed home victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, the Atlanta Falcons will be taking to the field on short rest in a crucial Week 9 NFL matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In many ways, this Thursday Night Football game will go a long way to give a better outlook of the NFC South, which is still currently open for the taking by nearly any team within the division. Read on below as we preview this encounter, including free NFL betting predictions and picks.

Atlanta at Tampa Bay Week 9 Betting Pick, Prediction & TV Info

The Falcons are ‘excited’ for their big division game on #TNF where they seek to go 3-1 in the division. WATCH: https://t.co/EthWYjYcqJ pic.twitter.com/4FU9sfJLZY

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) November 1, 2016

When: Thursday, November 3, 2016, 6:25 pm ET Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa TV: NFL Network Radio: Atlanta / Tampa Bay Stream Option: NFL Live NFL Lines: Atlanta (-3), OVER/UNDER 51

Why Bet on Atlanta?

Like we’ve said severally this season, the Falcons have a leaky defense that is an every-weekend guarantee that Atlanta will always give points when pitted against strong offensive teams. But as long as the Dirty Birds maximize on their stellar offense, they will always be in a position to win even the toughest of games. This viewpoint was affirmed last week when the Falcons recorded a pulsating come-from- behind 33-32 win over Green Bay, thanks to Matt Ryan’s 11-yard touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu with 11 seconds remaining in the game. This win came in spite of the fact that Aaron Rodgers had a stellar performance from Green Bay by having a career-day in rushing yards and passing for four touchdowns. To beat the Buccaneers, the Falcons will need Ryan and his plethora of weapons—Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman et al.—to have another solid game, as the Bucs have a good-enough offense that is sure to have a good number of scoring opportunities this Thursday. Of course, the Falcons’ D will also need to come up big, particularly in regards to pressuring QB Jameis Winston—who torched Atlanta for 23 of 32 passes for 281 yards and four TDs in the Week 1—and regulating Tampa Bay’s top offensive threat in WR Mike Evans.

Why Bet on Tampa Bay?

The Buccaneers are coming off a frustrating OT home loss to the Raiders and the team will be pissed off at the manner in which it wasn’t able to capitalize on its opportunities. The Buccaneers had a physical defensive showcase that allowed them to earn 200 extra yards on NFL-record 23 penalties, but the hosts were unable to make those penalties count. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay’s passing defense virtually had no answer to Derek Carr and his big arms, as the third-year QB passed for a career-high 513 yards and 4 touchdowns against zero picks, including the game-winning score in overtime. Given that Atlanta has the second-best passing offense in the league to go with an NFL-best 32.8 points scored per game, it goes without saying that Tampa Bay’s defense will need to find speedy solutions in order to avoid getting frozen by Matty Ice and his gang. It’s a tall task, but it is certainly possible, considering the manner in which the Bucs defense throttled Carolina three weeks ago and then followed it with another strong performance against San Francisco two weeks ago. Additionally, Winston has consistently shown his ability to hit his targets aerially in short and deep throws as well as in making good decisions in terms of using his runners to move the chains offensively. Engineering a decent number of scoring drives and mustering solid offense should therefore be very possible for Winston and the Bucs, who will be facing Atlanta’s below-average defense that is giving up the third-most points in the NFL this season (28.9 PPG).

My Expert Predictions and Picks

Since the start of last season, the Buccaneers have won three straight games against Atlanta, including a 34-21 win when the two teams met in Week 1. You should therefore not count out the Bucs from pulling another victory over the Falcons this Thursday. That being said, Atlanta is playing a much better game than they did in Week 1 or even last season, while the Bucs continue to struggle against top-tier opponents. As if that is not enough, Tampa Bay has been a perennially poor home team, winning just 3 of its last 20 home games. All that, plus the obvious offensive edge the Falcons have over the Bucs who will be without three of their top running backs, should therefore allow the visitors to claim a rather convincing win over Tampa Bay this Thursday in a likely high-scoring duel. Final Predicted Score: Atlanta 33, Tampa Bay 24 Writer’s NFL Picks: Atlanta (-3), OVER 51