Week 1 betting – Buccaneers -2½ at Cowboys – odds, point spread, prediction

NFLbets isn’t a huge fan of betting in week 1 of the NFL – too many unknown variables – but every year, we’re tempted from out of the offseason-induced sports betting hibernation by a few games that just look to good to pass up. For example, this line:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -2½ at Dallas Cowboys, over/under 50½ points

NFLbets notes the plummeting over/under, which has gone from as high as 52 at some sportsbooks to tis present 50½ most places and could well be 49½ by game time. And that’s where NFLbets is focusing

Truth be told, who knows precisely that final outcome? Perhaps the worst-case scenario plays out for Touchdown Tom Brady and Tampa Bay: The offensive line folds over and over and the Bucs lose by double-digits.

Or worst-case it for the Cowboys: Say in his first game as Buccaneers head coach, Todd Bowles goes no-brainer and continuously sends the house at LT Tyler Smith, the number #24 overall pick out of Tulsa this past NFL draft who’s subbing in for All-Pro Tyron Smith, and just make Dak Prescott’s life miserable. (NFLbets is already counting on Ezekiel Elliott’s effectiveness to be limited, a natural consequence of losing the league’s best run-blocker.

A ton of unknowns there may be in this game, but here are four things we do Know.

• Dak Prescott will play despite ankle soreness;
• Tom Brady will play despite his wife’s soreness with him, so in addition to playing without 60% of his line, Brady could be without 50% of his mind;
• the Buccaneers defense is loaded with guys we all loved last year (and the year before): Vita Vea, Devon White, LaVonte David, Antoine Winfield Jr. and such;
• the Cowboys defense meanwhile brings last year’s top defense in turnovers generated and led by Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons and 2021 interception leader Trayvon Diggs plus a whole lot more.

So with these spread and over/under lines, the bet become quite clear. With a 2½-point spread, oddsmakers are figuring on a final score of Buccaneers 27-24 or 26-24. Each would require at least wto touchdowns each and realistically five or six total in the game. And with the current state of these teams’ defensive lines, NFLbets would take the over on a “Total Sacks” proposition bet a thousand times before playing the over in this one. Take the under on an O/U of 50½ points – get it soon!