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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers NFL Betting Odds & Spread

Written December 5, 2008 by Jason Lowry

Monday Night Football is treating NFL fans to one heck of a game this week, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers square off for the second time this season, and both teams come in at 9-3 tied for 1st in the NFC South. Now the Buccaneers took the first game at home 27-3, but the Panthers have yet to lose at home this season, and are coming off a very impressive win last week in Green Bay 35-31. The Bucs also come into this one red hot, as they won their 4th straight game last week with a 23-20 win over the Saints at home. Now for those of you looking to do some NFL betting on the Monday night game, the oddsmakers have the Panthers 3 point favorites over the Buccaneers at Sportsbook.com

The Buccaneers continue to look impressive, and a big reason for that is the play of Jeff Garcia at quarterback, as he just does things the right way, and since taking over the starting job he has went 6-1 with only 1 interception. Last week Garcia only threw for 119 yards and a score, but he didn’t turn the ball over, and the Bucs ran for nearly 150 yards on the ground. Now last time the Bucs took on the Panthers Warrick Dunn had himself a pretty good game, as Dunn ran for 115 yards on 22 carries. Now playing at Carolina is not an easy task, and it would be one heck of a win if they could not only be the first team to beat the Panthers at home, but it would secure them the division if these two teams wind up tied at the end of the season.

The Bucs defense was lights out against the Panthers in the first matchup, as they forced Jake Delhomme into throwing 3 interceptions and held the Panthers excellent rushing attack to just 40 yards on the ground. Last week against the Saints the defense did much of the same, as they forced Drew Brees into throwing 3 interceptions and allowed the Saints just 44 yards on the ground. Now if the defense plays like it did in the first game its going to be real hard for the Panthers to walk away with the much needed win. Bet Buccaneers +3 at Sportsbook.com

The Panthers come into this game red hot as well, as they have won 5 of their last 6 games, and pulled off a crazy win in Green Bay last week, as it looked like the Packers had them beat late. The big play came on a Delhomme pass to star receiver Steve Smith, as the two hooked up on a 54 yard strike to the 1 yard line that set up DeAngelo Williams 4th touchdown of the game. Delhomme was 12 of 17 passing for just 177 yards, but scored on a 1 yard touchdown run, and the Panthers rode Williams all the way to the finish. Now the offense only scored 3 points last time the played the Bucs, and we think that is something you know they are going to improve on this weekend, as we think the winner of this one has to score in the 20s.

Now the Panthers defense has been really good at home this season, and we wouldn’t be shocked to see a complete reversal of the last game, but they do come into this one struggling against the pass, as they let the Packers open up their offense, as Aaron Rodgers threw for 298 yards and 3 scores, and that allowed the running game to get going, and the Packers wound up with another 145 yards on the ground. Now againt playing at home just seems to make all the difference to this team, and we think they pick up their game as they have done all season and come home with a big win. Bet Panthers -3 at Sportsbook.com

Get the best NFL picks and the latest NFL odds for every game this weekend at Betfirms.

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