Washington vs Tampa Bay Prediction
| Story: | Washington vs Tampa Bay Prediction 1/12/2025 NFL Picks |
| What: | NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| When: | Sunday, January 12, 2025 at 8:00 EST/5:00 PST |
| Where: | Raymond James Stadium (Tifway 419 Bermuda Grass), Tampa, Florida |
| Washington vs Tampa Bay Line: | Buccaneers -3 |
| Total: | 50.5 |
| TV: | NBC, Peacock |
Washington vs Tampa Bay Prediction
The second NFC Wild Card serves up the Commanders (12-5, 5-2 on the Road) heading to Tampa to lock horns with the Buccaneers (10-7, 5-4 at Home) at Raymond James Stadium where the Weather will start temperate (61°) but could dip down and much as 10° by 10 pm local time. The NFC East’s Commanders qualified as the No. 6 Wild Card seed while the Buccaneers won the NFC South and are the No. 3 seed. All teams will be reseeded after the Wild Card Round. DraftKings has the Buccaneers priced at 25/1 to win the Super Bowl with the Commanders at 45/1. Super Bowl LIX comes on Sunday, February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana (FOX, 6:30 EST/5:30 CST/3:30 PST).
In their last 5 games, the Commanders went a perfect 5-0, beating Tennessee by 23 (42-19), at New Orleans by 1 (20-19), Philadelphia by 3 (36-33), Atlanta by 6 in OT (30-24), and at Dallas by 4 (23-19). And in their last 5 results, the Buccaneers are 4-1, rolling Las Vegas by 15 (28-13) and the LA Chargers by 23 (40-17), losing at Dallas by 1 (25-24), and then winning back-to-back games vs the Panthers by 34 (48-14) and the Saints by 8 in the Regular Season finale (27-10). DraftKings has these two teams as big longshots to win the NFC Championship Game with Washington at 17/1 and Tampa Bay at 12/1 with Lions (+110), Eagles (3/1), Vikings (+750), Packers (12/1) and LA Rams (17/1).
Commanders Hoping Daniels Can Continue His Magic
Washington (10-6-1 ATS, 11-6-1 O/U) has been a strong Over team. The Commanders (+140 Moneyline) have enjoyed a surprisingly good season after drafting and starting Rookie QB Jayden Daniels (LSU) and establishing a solid Rushing attack (154.1 PPG, #3) with the speedy Daniels (891 Rushing yards, 6 TD, 6.0 YPC), and RB’s Brian Robisnson Jr. (799 Rushing yards, 6 TD, 4.3 YPC) and Austin Ekeler (367 Rushing yards, 4 TD). The Passing attack (215.6 YPG, #17) is middle of the pack. Still, the Commanders have some dangerous Receivers in WR Terry McLaurin (82 Receptions, 1,096 Receiving yards, 13 TDs) and veteran TE Zach Ertz (66 Receptions, 654 Receiving yards, 7 TDs).
Washington vs Tampa Bay Prediction
The Defense (23.0 PPG, #18) has moments and helped Washington (+1 TO Margin) win the last 5 straight, taking them from a 7-5 team to a 12-5 team and a spot in the Postseason. The Commanders have 3 guys listed as Questionable in LB Frankie Luvu (Shoulder), TE John Bates (Shoulder), and WR Jamison Crowder (Groin), but all saw some limited time in Practice on Thursday and you know they will all want to play Sunday night. Four of Washington’s 5 Losses were to Playoff teams (PHIL, PIT, BALT, TB).
Washington Commanders Betting Trends
- The Commanders lost to Tampa Bay in Week 1 (37-20)
- Washington is 7-3 SU in its last 10 Road games overall
- The Commanders are 5-5-0 ATS in their last 10 games
- The Over is 4-2-0 in Washington’s last 6 games
- Washington is 0-3-0 ATS in the last 3 Road games
- The Commanders are 3-6-1 ATS in their last 10 vs the Bucs
Buccaneers Thriving with QB Baker Mayfield
Tampa Bay (10-7-0 ATS, 12-5-0 O/U) have also been strong Over the team and with QB Baker Mayfield (4,500 Rushing yards, 41 TD, 64.6 QBR) showing he still has it, the Swashbucklers rose up and passed Atlanta to win the AFC South with great support from RB Bucky Irving (1,122 Rushing yards, 8 TD) and veteran WR Mike Evans (74 receptions, 1,004 Receiving yards, 11 TD). This team overcame some key early season Injuries (Bryce Hall, Chris Godwin). Besides topping Washington already, Tampa Bay has also beaten 3 other NFL Playoff teams in the Lions, Eagles, and Chargers.
The Buccaneers (-185 Moneyline) head in with CB Troy Hill, S Mike Edwards, CB Jamel Dean, DE William Gholston, DE Logan Hall, OT Tristan Wirfs and WR Sterling Shepard are all listed as Questionable. Tampa Bay has a -5 TO Margin and even though it handled Washington in Week 1, the visitors have improved a bunch with likely Rookie of the Year Daniels getting better and smarter every week. Establishing a ground game with Irving will be huge for the Home team as if the Bucs can run the ball, it will open up their very capable Passing game. In Baker we trust.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Trends
- Tampa Bay is 6-1-0 SU in its last 7 games overall
- The Buccaneers are 3-1-0 ATS in their last 4 Home games
- Tampa Bay has scored 20 or more Points in 10 straight games
- The Buccaneers are just 5-4 at Home, Won 3 straight
- The Over is 3-0-0 in the last 3 Tampa Bay games
- The Over is 7-3-0 in the last 10 Buccaneers games
Washington vs Tampa Bay Prediction
These two teams have each won 5 times in the last 10 with the Buccaneers going 6-3-1 ATS and winning and covering ATS in that opener way back in Week 1 when we were all still young. The last 3 meetings at Raymond James Stadium have seen the Commanders win 2 of those clashes. Combined, these two teams have played to 23 Overs, 11 Unders, and 1 Push (67.6%) and with 2 guys that can throw the ball in Mayfield (#3 Passing yards) and Daniels (#16 Passing yards) and the teams in a win-or-go-home game Pace, each team should get at least a FG and/or a TD in each Quarter.
Washington vs Tampa Bay Prediction
This Washington vs Tampa Bay NFL pick is on the Total going Over like it did with the 57 total Points scored in Week 1 here in the Sunshine State in that 37-20 blowout which saw 8 straight TDs to end the scoring after 2 FGs in the First Quarter. The last 3 Buccaneers games went Over, the Over is 4-2-0 in Washington’s last 6 games, and the last 2 in the series went Over. Mayfield and Tampa Bay average 29.5 PPG (#4) while Daniels and Washington average 28.5 PPG (#5). Enough said. Call Ed.
Kevin’s Prediction: Commanders-Buccaneers Over 50