Cowboys vs Buccaneers odds and prediction for Wild Card Weekend
By Jerry Trotta
It’s settled. The Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will fulfill the prophecy and meet in the playoffs on Wild Card Weekend.
This matchup has been written in the stars for the last month of the regular season and it came to fruition after Dallas lost to Washington in Week 18, though some folks believe Mike McCarthy’s squad didn’t play with the desired urgency after they found out the Giants were resting their starters against the Eagles.
You can certainly argue this is an unfortunate turn of events for the Cowboys. Everybody and their mother would presumably rather play the 13-win Vikings, whom Dallas steamrolled 40-3 in Minnesota earlier this season, than a Buccaneers team that finished below .500 and looked out of sorts all year.
The reason for that? Well, Tampa Bay, for all of its deficiencies, has the consensus greatest quarterback of all time in Tom Brady, and their skill position players — Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette, and Rachaad White chief among them — could cause headaches for the Cowboys’ defense.
Long story short, this has the makings to be the game of Wild Card Weekend, which explains why it’s scheduled for (shivers) Monday night.
Let’s check out the early betting odds for the game.
Cowboys vs Buccaneers Odds for Wild Card Weekend
Per FanDuel’s betting odds, the Cowboys open as 3-point favorites (-3) against the Buccaneers, meaning they’re one of two road favorites for the Wild Card Round. The Chargers, -2.5 against the Jaguars are the other road favorite. Dallas, meanwhile, is -105 to cover the number, while Tampa is -115.
In terms of the moneyline, the Cowboys are -152 to win outright. The Bucs have +128 odds to win outright. Based on how Dallas looked in Week 18, you can count on A LOT of money betting Tampa on the money line. The over/under is set at 45.5 points, with the over at -105 and the under checking in at -115.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Cowboys vs Buccaneers Prediction for Wild Card Weekend
Say what you will about the Vikings being frauds, but the Buccaneers are the worst team among the NFC’s division winners. That’s just a fact.
They finished under .500 during the regular season, and their signature win came all the way back in Week 1 … against Dallas. They came up short against playoff teams in the Ravens, Chiefs, Bengals and 49ers and needed to beat the Kyler Murray-less Cardinals in overtime and engineer a second half comeback vs Carolina in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively, to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Yes, Tom Brady is capable of flipping a switch in the playoffs, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is a deeply flawed Buccaneers team. The Cowboys aren’t perfect, either, but they aren’t the team we saw in Week 18. As long as Dak Prescott and company bring their B-A game, they should send the GOAT packing.
Prediction: Cowboys 24, Buccaneers 20
