Buccaneers at Cowboys Odds | Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was recently named as the Bum Steer Award winner by Texas Monthly for 2024 – the “prize” given to the public figure that the magazine considers least competent and most ridiculous. The article about the award compares Jones to the “world’s oldest, weirdest toddler” when describing Jones’ public rant about his decision not to close the curtains at the stadium’s sides for late-afternoon games even though the glare from the sun at that time of day has cost his team receptions and touchdowns during the lifetime of the stadium. In the offseason, Jones opted to wait until the last minute to extend quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (and having to pay top dollar to get them to sign) and left the rest of the roster largely unaddressed, particularly in the area of depth.
The injuries that have mounted on defense have played a large role in the routs that the Cowboys have taken this season, even before the season-ending injury to Prescott. The latest season-ending casualty is defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence – who hasn’t played since Week 4, when he suffered a Lisfranc injury to his right foot. The team has worked hard to rehab him and bring him back, but now that there are only three games left on the slate, the team has decided to shut him down until 2025. His 2024 season was the last on his contract; he has spent all 11 of his pro seasons with the Cowboys, with four trips to the Pro Bowl on his resume. Will he be back? We’ll see.
For now, the Cowboys prepare to welcome Tampa Bay – fresh off a 40-17 tattooing of the L.A. Chargers – into AT&T Stadium for what could easily become another prime time beating in front of their own home fans. No other team in the long history of the NFL had trailed by at least 20 points in six straight home games until Dallas accomplished that “feat” earlier this season. Read on to get our sports betting thoughts on this showdown.
Buccaneers at Cowboys Odds: NFL Game Lines in Week 16 | NFL 2024/25 Season
NFL Odds: Tampa Bay -4.5 / O/U 48.5
When: Sunday, December 22, 2024, 8:20 pm ET
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV: NBC
Radio: Westwood One / WIP 94.1 FM Dallas
Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket
Why Should You Bet On the Buccaneers?
Even though Tampa Bay is just 8-6, you have to view them as NFC contenders. They upset Detroit and Philadelphia in the early going before losing both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans for an extended time. Their four-game losing streak came against tough teams (especially the overtime loss to Kansas City), but now that Evans is back, Baker Mayfield is finding ways to lead explosive drives. Evans has now caught multiple touchdown passes in 23 games, the fifth most by a player with one team in league history. The Bucs finished their 40-17 win over the Chargers by scoring the last 27 points of the game, and those 40 points came against the league’s top scoring defense. Ball security is still an issue for this team, which has given the ball away seven times in the last three games. The fact that they were able to shut the Chargers down in the second half might not be that surprising (as this was the third time this has happened to Jim Harbaugh’s offense this season), but the Bucs did it without their top three safeties. Mike Edwards (hamstring), Jordan Whitehead (pectoral) and Antoine Winfield Jr (knee) were all on the shelf. Cornerback Jamel Dean permitted just two catches on six targets and snagged an interception, and Lavonte David and Logan Hall each posted 1.5 sacks.
In the win over the Chargers, Mayfield went 22 of 27 for 288 yards and four touchdowns, along with an interception. Bucky Irving carried the ball 15 times for 117 yards, and Evans had nine catches for 159 yards and two scores. The team is scoring 28.8 points per game, which ranks fourth in the league, while the defense (23.3 points permitted per game) is ranked 19th. The Cowboys have a nine-game losing streak straight up when they have been underdogs by between 3.5 and 7 points, while the Bucs have an eight-game winning streak in December when favored on the road. At home, the Cowboys have a six-game losing streak against the spread against teams above .500.
^Why Should You Put Your Money on the Cowboys?
The Cowboys went to Carolina last week and turned a 10-7 halftime lead into a 30-14 win behind backup quarterback Cooper Rush, who had the first three-touchdown game of his NFL career. We did learn that Rush should keep the ball on many zone reads, as one of his carries this time turned into his fourth lost fumble of 2024. Tailback Rico Dowdle has run for 100 or more yards three weeks in a row, but doing that a fourth time will be hard against a Buccaneers D that only allows 115.2 rushing yards per game. The Cowboys are now 6-8, which means they’re still mathematically alive for the playoffs – but their draft position is not likely to bring them a high pick. It was impressive to see Dallas bounce back, particularly in the second half, after a boneheaded special teams play, followed by ridiculous tackling in the secondary, allowed the Cincinnati Bengals to steal a win in Arlington the previous Monday. The O-line did its job against a Panthers team that is slightly above average against the run.
Cooper Rush struggled in his first game in relief of Prescott, but since then he has looked like the solid backup that did well in his starting stint a few years ago as well, going 4-1 in five games. He threw for 214 yards, and all three of his touchdown passes came under duress, the first time a Dallas quarterback had done that since Prescott did it in 2016. Despite the injuries, the defense snagged two interceptions against Carolina quarterback Bryce Young, and the Bucs are also a turnover-prone team. The defense is still ranked 30th in the league, permitting 27.1 points per game, and the D will need to stand tall in this game for the Cowboys to avoid another embarrassing rout, let alone cover this spread.
^Buccaneers at Cowboys Odds, Final Score and Prediction in Week 14
The Cowboys are only scoring 21.3 points per game, and the Buccaneers have the personnel to clog up the Dallas running game and put Cooper Rush under pressure. Dallas has found Jalen Tolbert for touchdowns, but the Buccaneers have the personnel to put a clamp on CeeDee Lamb and force Rush to check multiple reads. This game has the potential to turn into a track meet, but I don’t see Tampa Bay giving up as much to Dallas’ offense as some sports betting writers think they will.
I predict a final score of Tampa Bay 34, Dallas 16. .
^#Buccaneers at #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/tGb5d97YCe
— Jackson Taylor (@JackTayStats) December 19, 2024
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