Can Tampa Bay Stop the Falcon Train as NFL Football Betting Dogs?

Can the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stop the Atlanta Falcons rush to the top seed in the NFC Conference during the playoffs as NFL football betting home dogs on Dec. 5th?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have surprised everybody this NFL Season by going 7 and 4 straight up. They’ve beaten some decent teams like St. Louis and San Francisco and have been very competitive in 2 out of their 4 losses.

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One of the games Tampa Bay was competitive in was against the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 7th. TB lost by only 6 points, 21 to 27, as 10-point NFL football betting road dogs. Now, the Bucs get the Falcons in their stadium. Will the end result be the same or will Tampa Bay take it to Atlanta?

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

When: Dec. 5th, 2010 at 4:15 pm EST

TV: FOX

Radio: Sirius-XM 90 (ATL) 158 (TB)

NFL Betting Line

Atlanta Falcons -2 -110 O 44 ½ -110

Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2 -110 U 44 ½ -110

The NFL wagering trends favor the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in this game.

• The Atlanta Falcons are 1 and 6 ATS in their last 7 meetings.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 5 and 0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 4 and 0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog.
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 5 and 2 ATS in their last 7 games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game.

Most football handicappers, 70% of them, believe that the Falcons will cover the football betting spread in the sportsbook. I’m actually part of the 30% backing the Buccaneers in this game.

For starters, TB is the best team in the NFL against the spread this season. The Bucs are 8 and 3 ATS overall and 5 and 0 ATS in their last 5 games. I also really like how the Buccaneers played against the Ravens last week. Yes, Baltimore beat Tampa Bay 17 to 10 and covered the 7 ½ point spread, but the Bucs hung in against a top AFC team.

Young teams don’t do that very often. QB Josh Freeman has blossomed into a pretty good signal caller in the NFL and rookie WR Mike Willliams is already one of the better wide receivers in the NFC South Division. It’s the Buccaneers’ D, though, where real improvement can be seen. Since giving up 27 points to the Falcons on Nov. 7th, the Buc’s D hasn’t allowed a team to score more than 17 points against it.

The Bucs’ D actually shut out the San Francisco 49’ers on the road in a 21 to 0 Tampa Bay victory as 3 ½ point football betting dogs. If that Buccaneers defense shows up on Sunday, then the Falcons could be in for a long game.

But Atlanta is no slouch of a team, obviously. Their QB, Matt Ryan, is easily one of the best in the NFL already. The Falcons are 9 and 2 straight up this season because they are a good team, but football handicappers would be amiss to simply leave it at that. The truth is that Atlanta has gotten lucky in more than one game this season.

The Falcons beat New Orleans 27 to 24 after Saints’ kicker Garrett Hartley missed a chip shot field goal that would have won it for the champs in overtime. The Falcons beat Baltimore 26 to 21 after the Ravens’ vaunted defense allowed Roddy White to catch a 30+ TD pass with less than a minute remaining in the 4th quarter.

Just last week Atlanta beat Green Bay 20 to 17 after the Packers had tied the game with about a minute left in the 4th quarter. All of the close calls will eventually catch up to the Falcons. I’ll be gambling that it happens this Sunday when Atlanta travels to Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay is the pick to cover the spread in the NFL football betting sportsbook.

NFL Betting Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2 -110

Check out NFL football betting odds for Week 13 games in the sportsbook, click here!