Game preview

Houston Texans @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers Texans head to Tampa Bay this week with a one game lead over their AFC South competitors, Tennessee Titans. They know that a win will clinch the division and the all important home field advantage in the first play-off round.

However, this Buccs side have found their spark towards this late stage of the season. They will be looking to make it 5 wins in a row. Although their play-off hopes in the NFC are dead, the buccaneers find themselves in a game with actual play-off implications.

Buccs are ranked #1 in the league for passing yards and were without wide receiver Mike Evans in a victory over Detroit last week. That didn’t slow the passing attack as the Buccs recording 450+ passing yards in consecutive weeks. They will be without Mike Evans again, along with wide receiver Chris Godwin (hamstring).

However, no team has more pass plays of 20+ yards that Tampa this season. So why fix something that isn’t broken? The Tampa Bay offence will still look to pass first, pass second and third on Saturday as the Texans are ranked #28 for passing yards allowed defensively. The Texans are also worst in the league defensively on third down.

On the other hand, obviously you can’t have a team that are ranked worse against third down and fourth worst against the passing play topping their respected division without an explosive offence. In fact, the Texans are the fourth best in the league at converting third downs, whilst the Tampa Bay defence is ranked fifth at preventing.

So many counteractions in one game! In summary, both teams relish offense when throwing the ball, Tampa Bay 308.8 yds/game Houston 245.0 yds/game, and both struggle against the pass defensively. Its all set up to be a fascinating watch. I believe Houston will come out on top and cover the -3 spread whilst doing so.

Score Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20 – 37 Houston Texans