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| San Francisco 49ers | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 9-4 | December 15, 2013, 01:00 | Raymond James Stadium | 4-9 |
Following an emotional victory at home over Seattle the San Francisco 49ers now head cross-country to the Eastern time zone to take on an improving Tampa Bay Buccaneers team this Sunday.
San Francisco got a late field goal to beat the Seahawks Sunday 19-17, although the win didn't do as much for its playoff positioning as one might think.
The Niners still trail Seattle by two games in the NFC West race, with just three games to go, so it looks like the Niners will begin the playoffs on the road as a wild-card team.
On the other side of this match-up Tampa Bay, following an 0-8 start to this season, has won four of its last five games, after beating Buffalo Sunday 27-6.
As of early this week San Francisco was favored by five points over the Bucs at Sportsbook. The 49ers are 7-1 ATS past eight games as road favorites.
View San Francisco 49ers vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Odds and Stats.
Tampa Bay opened as 3.5-point underdogs at shops such as Sportsbook, while the NFL total was set at 41 for over under betting.
The Buccaneers - 49ers odds would favor the 49ers if the lines were set according to power ranks. Tampa Bay is rated No. 23 in our latest OddsShark poll, while the 49ers sit at No. 2. Math models based on recent stats and predictive formulas point to a 26-16 win for the 49ers.
San Francisco was a 19-17 Sportsbook in its last match at home against the Seahawks. They failed to cover the 2.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score of 36 sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. Bobby Rainey went over the 100-yard mark (127) in his team's latest effort as Tampa Bay defeated Buffalo by a score of 27-6 on Sunday.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Tampa Bay's No. 30-ranked offense (18.77 PPG) against a 49ers defense that ranks No. 3 at 16.46 PPG. The Buccaneers passing attack has averaged 180.77 yards per game, less than the 49ers give up through the air (204 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the 49ers own the league's No. 4-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 92.67 yards per game when on the road. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, rates No. 15 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few 49ers at Buccaneers trends to consider:
San Francisco is 7-2-1 ATS in its last 10 games
San Francisco is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Francisco's last 5 games
San Francisco is 4-0-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
Tampa Bay is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 5-14 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 9 games
Next up:
San Francisco home to Atlanta, Monday, December 23rd
Tampa Bay at St. Louis, Sunday, December 22nd
