Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New England Patriots Matchup Preview (10/3/21) Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New England Patriots Matchup Preview (10/3/21)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will make his long-awaited return to Foxborough, MA for this Sunday Night Football matchup. He is coming off a game against the Los Angeles Rams that saw him throw for 432 yards and one touchdown. He also somehow ended up as the Buccaneers leading rusher with 14 yards on three carries. The Buccaneers poor run game last week could be the reason they lost to the Rams 34-24 and dropped their record to 2-1. The New England Patriots are also coming off a Week 3 loss. The 1-2 Patriots lost the New Orleans Saints 28-13. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones threw for 270 yards and one touchdown but also gave up three interceptions. Jones, like Tom Brady, was his team’s leading rusher with 28 yards on six carries. I could see this game being very high-scoring with QB Tom Brady throwing for a lot of touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New England Patriots Betting Odds
The Buccaneers come into this game as 7-point favorites. I would be shocked if they do not cover that point spread. The reigning Super Bowl Champions simply have a lot more weapons than this Patriots team. Tom Brady has been having another predictably great season at the age of 44. The Buccaneers will be without wide receiver Scotty Miller and tight end Rob Gronkowski, but will still have three-time Pro Bowler Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The Buccaneers running game is the weakest part of their offense, but the Patriots also do not have a great running game. For the Patriots, QB Mac Jones still has time to prove himself as an elite playmaker but may need better players to work with. Since Jones is lacking weapons, he will probably not be able to put up as many points as his counterpart, Tom Brady. That is why I do not see the Patriots pulling out the upset win.
My Predictions: Buccaneers 35, Patriots 17, Patriots cover, over 49 points
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TV Schedule
Date: Sunday, October 3rd
Time: 8:20 PM ET
Location: Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA
TV Coverage: NBC
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New England Patriots Live Stream
Where can you watch Buccaneers vs. Patriots online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Buccaneers vs. Patriots Free Online Now.
Injuries
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: TE Rob Gronkowski (Ribs) O, WR Scotty Miller (Toe) IR, LB Jason Pierre-Paul (Shoulder) Q, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting (Elbow) IR, DB Jamel Dean (Knee) O, RB Giovani Bernard (Ribs) O
New England Patriots: WR N’Keal Harry (Shoulder) IR, RB James White (Hip) IR, CB Stephon Gilmore (Quadriceps) PUP, MLB Kyle Van Noy (Groin) Q, K Quinn Nordin (Abdomen) IR, K Nick Folk(Knee) Q
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Analysis
The Buccaneers have shown once again that they are a contender in this NFL. The leadership on this team starts with QB Tom Brady. He has this uncanny ability to consistently perform as a top quarterback in the league while simultaneously making everyone around him a better player. This year has been no different. Through the first three weeks of the season, he has thrown for 11 touchdowns and over 1000 passing yards. He has also helped his tight end (and probably best friend) Rob Gronkowski dominate the way he once did on the Patriots. Gronkowski will not be playing this week, but I still expect Brady to continue to target wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown.
The Buccaneers will be without WR Scotty Miller this week, however, they still have wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Antonio Brown. Mike Evans is coming off an eight reception 106-yard game and Chris Godwin is coming off a six reception 74-yard game and currently leads all Buccaneers players with 241 receiving yards. After missing Week 3, WR Antonio Brown will return this week. Brown had five receptions for 121 yards in Week 1. QB Tom Brady will continue to target them a lot.
The Buccaneers running back game is the weakest part of their offense. On a team with a lot of offensive weapons, the running back duo of Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones II does not have much to offer. Fournette was a dominant force when he was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but we have not seen his dominance this season. Both Fournette and Jones II have under 100 rushing yards this season and no rushing or receiving touchdowns. Look out for one of them to score their first touchdown against a pretty banged-up Patriots defense.
The Buccaneers defense struggled against the Rams on Sunday giving up 34 points. They are still a top-10 defense, and I would expect this defense to rebound this week against the Patriots. They will be battling without linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, and most likely defensive back Jamel Dean (and a few others), but they did add five-time Pro Bowler Richard Sherman to their roster this week. It is unclear what Sherman’s role will be on this team, but he will have a positive impact. Even with their injuries, they will be facing a lacking Patriots offense and have a good opportunity to shut them down.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Depth Chart
QB: Tom Brady
RB1: Leonard Fournette
RB2: Ronald Jones II
WR1: Mike Evans
WR2: Chris Godwin
WR3: Tyler Johnson
TE1: Rob Gronkowski
TE2: Cameron Brate
New England Patriots Analysis
This does not appear to be the year that the Patriots go all the way. They are not one of the worst teams in the league, but they are definitely not one of the best. Rookie quarterback Mac Jone has not inherited a great team in New England and it shows. He has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions and has a quarterback rating (QBR) of 52.0. The 15th overall pick in this year’s draft may have come from the quarterback factory at the University of Alabama, but he will need more time to develop. If he wants any chance to win this game, he will need to throw to all his targets and pray that his running backs can be effective.
The Patriots do not have a very impressive wide receiver core. WR N’Keal Harry is questionable to play this week which leaves the rest of the wide receivers a little short-handed. WR Jakobi Meyers has become QB Mac Jones’ favorite target with 19 receptions on 29 targets. Meyers has 176 receiving yards and no touchdowns. WR Nelson Agholor had shown some promise when he played in Philadelphia, but he has not been very impactful so far this season. Meyers, Agholor, WR Kendrick Bourne, and tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith will need to figure out how to get open against this tough Buccaneers defense.
The Patriots running back duo of Damien Harris and Brandon Bolden were very ineffective against the Saints in Week 3. Damien Harris has shown promise this year with his 176 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, but the rest of the running backs have done almost nothing. Harris will need to step up this week and get a little help from RB Brandon Bolden as well.
The Patriots defense is dealing with a lot of injuries right now. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore and middle linebacker Kyle Van Noy are the most notably injured players but the list goes on. The Patriots defense is pretty good, but they have not faced a team as good as the Buccaneers yet. If the Patriots offense can hold the ball for long periods of time, the defense might be able to have enough energy to slow down Tom Brady.
New England Patriots Depth Chart
QB: Mac Jones
RB1: Damien Harris
RB2: Brandon Bolden
WR1: Nelson Agholor
WR2: Jakobi Meyers
WR3: Kendrick Bourne
TE1: Hunter Henry
TE2: Jonnu Smith
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New England Patriots Daily Fantasy Picks
I would not count out Tom Brady in his first homecoming since leaving the Patriots. He had a rough breakup from his former head coach, Bill Belichick, in 2019 that has probably left a bad taste in his mouth. He may use that as motivation to torch his former team, and I would not want to miss out on that. For the other team, I would consider picking up Patrions RB Damien Harris for DFS. He had a bad Week 3, but will probably be given more responsibility in week 4.
- Bills @ Rams
- Saints @ Falcons
- Browns @ Panthers
- 49ers @ Bears
- Steelers @ Bengals
- Eagles @ Lions
- Colts @ Texans
- Patriots @ Dolphins
- Ravens @ Jets
- Jaguars @ Commanders
- Giants @ Titans
- Chiefs @ Cardinals
- Raiders @ Chargers
- Packers @ Vikings
- Buccaneers @ Cowboys
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