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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Redskins NFL Picks & Betting Lines

Written by Jimmy Boyd

bucs skins 93009 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to FedEx Field this week in search of their first win of the season against the Washington Redskins. The Bucs couldn’t have drawn a better opponent when you consider that Detroit was able to end its 19-game skid against Washington last week. The Bucs and the Skins last met back in 2007 with the Bucs earning a 19-13 win. That win was Tampa Bay’s third straight regular season victory over the Redskins to take the 9-8 lead in the all-time series. NFL odds makers expect Washington to bounce back though, listing the Redskins as the 7-point favorite with the total set at 37.

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The Bucs were brutally embarrassed by the Giants in Week 3 and that embarrassment has prompted the benching of Byron Leftwich in favor of Josh Johnson. Coach Raheem Morris made the change Monday, a day after the Bucs gained just 86 yards. Leftwich completed 7 of 16 passes for only 22 yards and one interception in the loss. Johnson was just 4 of 10 for 36 yards in his first NFL action last week. Johnson figures to have some growing pains, but he would be wise to look in the direction of wide receiver Antonio Bryant often Sunday. Bryant has torched the Skins in his career, averaging 18 yards per catch in five games against them. The Bucs figure to rely heavily on the running game led by Cadillac Williams and Derrick Ward this week. Earnest Graham is questionable Sunday with a hamstring injury and Williams has been hampered by a knee injury. Tampa can’t afford to lose it running back depth or it could be in serious trouble. The good news is that the Redskins have struggled to cover the number against poor teams, often playing down to the level of their competition, as we saw last week. In fact, the Redskins are just 3-14-3 against the spread in their last 20 games versus a team with a losing record. If you like Tampa Bay catching points, bet the Buccaneers at +7 at BetUS.

As if Jim Zorn wasn’t already on the hot seat, he had to go and lose to a team that had lost 19 straight games. If the Skins go down to another winless team this week, I can assure you that his days are numbered. Offensively, Washington must do a better job of running the football. Running back Clinton Portis is only averaging 3.9 yards per carry. And QB Jason Campbell has to make good decisions. It is no surprise that the Redskins are 5-1 when Campbell has a passer rating of at least 100.

Heading into the season, we knew Washington’s strength wouldn’t be its offense. But we expected the Redskins to be competitive by putting one of the league’s best defenses on the field with the signings of Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall and Brian Orakpo. Washington boasted the NFL’s fourth ranked defensive unit last season, but its new talent is yet to click. As a result, Washington has dropped to the 15th-best defense in the NFL through the first three weeks. This side of the ball has a chance to make a statement this week against a Buccaneers offense which figures to struggle under a new starting QB. It is worth noting that the Buccaneers are 0-5 against the spread in their last five games following a straight up loss of more than 14 points and the home team is 7-3-1 against the number in the last 11 meetings. If you like Washington to bounce back from last week’s embarrassing loss with a big win and cover, bet the Redskins at -7 at BetUS.

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