Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions Betting Preview

Part of the early Sunday Week 15 NFL betting action, Detroit hosts Tampa Bay at 1:00 p.m. ET on Dec. 15, 2019, at Ford Field in Detroit, MI. Stung by injuries, and both playing poorly on defense, the Lions and Buccaneers are officially eliminated from the NFC playoff race.

Spread: Buccaneers -3.5 (-110) | Lions +3.5 (-110)

Moneyline: Buccaneers (-185) | Lions (+165)

Total: OVER 47 (-110) | UNDER 47 (-110)

Buccaneers' Season to Date

Tampa Bay (5-6) erased a 35-21 third-quarter deficit and posted a 38-35 win at home over Indianapolis last week. Costly on the injury front, the Bucs lost WR Mike Evans to a hamstring injury while Jameis Winston is dealing with a fractured thumb. Tampa Bay has been fairly competitive with 4-3 SU and ATS records on the road.

Buccaneers' Betting Record: ATS 4-8-1 | OVER/UNDER 10-3-0

Buccaneers' Leaders on Offense

QB Jameis Winston: 4,115 pass yards with 26 TD and 23 INT

RB Ronald Jones: 759 total yards with 5 TD

WR Chris Godwin: 1,212 receiving yards with 9 TD

TE: O.J. Howard: 367 receiving yards with 1 TD

Lions’ Season To Date

Riding a six-game losing streak, Detroit (3-9-1) lost 20-7 to the Vikings in Minnesota last week. The Lions were getting shutout until they scored with 2:09 left in the match. Struggling since the second quarter of his first start last week, David Blough tossed two INT and was sacked five times. Detroit is 2-4 SU and 3-3 ATS during home games.

Lions’ Betting Record: ATS 5-8-0 | OVER/UNDER 8-5-0

Lions’ Leaders on Offense

QB David Blough: 485 pass yards with 3 TD and 3 INT

RB Bo Scarbrough: 306 total yards with 1 TD

WR Kenny Golladay: 1,008 receiving yards with 10 TD

TE: Logan Thomas: 141 receiving yards with 1 TD

Lions vs. Buccaneers Recent History Favors Detroit

Tampa Bay and Detroit last met in 2017 with the Lions posting a 24-21 win on the road. The Lions crushed the Buccaneers 34-17 during the last contest at Ford Field in 2014. Dating back to 2010, Detroit is 4-1 SU and ATS in this series. It needs to be noted that QB Matthew Stafford was the Lions starting quarterback in all five of those contests.

Detroit vs. Tampa Bay Final Thoughts and Pick

After leading at some point during the first 12 games, Detroit trailed throughout in Minnesota. The Lions defense was decent but the offense posted just 231 total yards. Blough faces a Bucs pass defense that’s allowing 278.8 YPG, but will do so without WR Marvin Jones (779 yards 9 TD), who was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. That’s a huge loss.

Losing Evans, who has 1,157 receiving yards and 8 TD, is a major hit to the Tampa Bay offense. Softening the blow some, Breshad Perriman and O.J. Howard have 289 combined receiving yards over last two weeks. Winston has been cleared to play and still has plenty of weapons at his disposal. Preferring Winston to Blough, bet on the Buccaneers.

Pick: Buccaneers -3.5

Season Record: 20-35-1