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Buccaneers vs Lions Prediction, Picks, Odds | NFL Divisional Playoff Game

Michael Crosson
Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert
4 minute read
Buccaneers vs Lions Prediction, Picks, Odds | NFL Divisional Playoff Game

Here's everything you need to know about the Buccaneers vs Lions Picks, Predictions, and Odds for this NFL Divisional Round Playoff Game.

The second round of the NFL Playoffs continues Sunday mid-afternoon with a rather surprising meeting of fates as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Detroit Lions. Coverage begins from Ford Field in Detroit at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC.

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Buccaneers vs Lions Betting Prediction & Odds for NFL Divisional Playoff Game

Matchup Spread Total Moneyline

The fact that Tampa Bay even made it this far in the first place is already quite the Cinderella Story. But the way I see it, the fairytale journey of Baker Mayfield and this year’s Buccaneers team ends in the Divisional Round this Sunday.

With the NFC South division crown up for grabs in the final two weeks of the regular season, the Bucs offense completely bottomed out in crucial moments as they scored just 13 points in a loss to the Saints and 9 points in a win over the Panthers – wrapping up a campaign in which Tampa Bay ranked 20th in both points scored and yards per play.

However, the narrative surrounding this Tampa team quickly pivoted on Wild Card Weekend as the Buccaneers went into their first-round playoff matchup against Philly as a short home underdogs and subsequently shocked the world, as the Bucs ran away with a 32-9 blowout victory over the Eagles despite 61% of tickets and 77% of the money landing on the Birds to cover the spread in that contest according to VegasInsider’s Patrick Everson.

The question is though, was the result of last week’s Eagles vs. Buccaneers game a product of a strong bounce-back effort from Tampa or an unpreventable catastrophic collapse by Philly? I would argue the latter. 

Quite frankly, it didn't seem to matter which team Philadelphia drew in the first round of the playoffs. Name the team, the Eagles were going to lose that game regardless of opponent strength – and they’ve been telling us that for several weeks.

The Eagles closed the regular season with losses in five of their final six games,  while scoring 19 points or less in four of those contests and surrendering 25-plus points on the defensive side of the ball in five of them – capping off by a 1-2 skid in which they allowed point-totals of 25 to the Giants, 35 to the Cardinals, and then 27 in a quick rematch against the G-Men. 

So forgive me for not being overly impressed by Tampa’s ability to replicate something that two of the worst teams in football managed to do the last few weeks. However, make no mistake about it. Reaching the postseason and winning a playoff game is no easy feat – and the Bucs should celebrate their accomplishments regardless of the outcome in this contest.

That said, the buck likely stops here for Tampa. This Detroit team is a totally different beast. The Lions narrowly escaped with a 24-23 victory over the Rams last week – and some may even say that Detroit got lucky. But the fact of the matter is, the Rams are a really good football team – and I truly believed that whichever team made it out of that matchup alive would go on to beat Dallas in the Divisional Round.

Well, similarly to the Eagles, the Cowboys let us down on Wild Card Weekend. So instead, it’s the Bucs squaring off against Detroit in the second round – and I still feel the same way about the victor of last week’s Rams vs Lions matchup. The Lions just went into a heavyweight battle with incredibly high personal stakes for both sides, and made it out alive – and now they draw a Bucs team that probably shouldn’t even be in the playoffs.

I think we’ll see Detroit roll this Sunday.

Score Prediction: Lions 30, Buccaneers 17
Best Bet: Lions -6.5 (-110)

TB @ DET Odds

  • Full Game
  • 1H
  • 1Q
  • 2Q
  • 3Q
  • 4Q
  • Spread
  • Total
  • Moneyline
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+5.5 -108 +3.5 -105 +3.5 -110 +4.5 -118 +3.5 -120 +5.5 -115 +4.5 -121 +3.5 +115 +6.5 -110  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-5.5 -112 -3.5 -115 -3.5 -110 -4.5 -102 -3.5 even -5.5 -105 -4.5 -103 -3.5 -150 -6.5 -110  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
o48.5 -115 o24 -115 N/A o24.5 even o24 -115 o24.5 -100 o25.5 -107 o25.5 +105 o49.5 -114  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
u48.5 -105 u24 -105 N/A u24.5 -120 u24 -105 u24.5 -120 u25.5 -118 u25.5 -135 u49.5 -106  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+205 +180 +170 +200 +170 +210 +190 N/A +250  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-250 -220 -210 -245 -205 -270 -245 N/A -310  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+5.5 -108 +2.5 -105 N/A N/A +3.5 -110 +2.5 -115 +1.5 -112 +2.5 -115 +6.5 -110  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-5.5 -112 -2.5 -115 N/A N/A -3.5 -110 -2.5 -105 -1.5 -112 -2.5 -115 -6.5 -110  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
o48.5 -115 o24.5 even N/A N/A o24.5 even o24.5 -100 o24.5 +102 o24.5 -110 o49.5 -114  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
u48.5 -105 u24.5 -120 N/A N/A u24.5 -120 u24.5 -120 u24.5 -125 u24.5 -120 u49.5 -106  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+205 +150 N/A N/A N/A +136 +128 N/A +250  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-250 -180 N/A N/A N/A -160 -159 N/A -310  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+5.5 -108 +0.5 +110 +0.5 -105 +0.5 -102 +0.5 -105 +1.5 -106 +2.5 +104 +3.5 -120 +6.5 -110  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-5.5 -112 -0.5 -130 -0.5 -125 -0.5 -118 -0.5 -115 -1.5 -116 -2.5 -129 -3.5 -110 -6.5 -110  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
o48.5 -115 o9.5 -125 N/A o9.5 -122 o9.5 -115 o9.5 -124 o9.5 -141 o9.5 -130 o49.5 -114  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
u48.5 -105 u9.5 +105 N/A u9.5 +102 u9.5 -105 u9.5 +102 u9.5 +114 u9.5 even u49.5 -106  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+205 +165 +150 +160 +158 +152 +180 N/A +250  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-250 -200 -200 -192 -190 -188 -235 N/A -310  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+5.5 -108 +2.5 -110 N/A +7.5 -150 N/A +2.5 +104 +2.5 -105 +2.5 -110 +6.5 -110  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-5.5 -112 -2.5 -110 N/A -7.5 +120 N/A -2.5 -128 -2.5 -118 -2.5 -120 -6.5 -110  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
o48.5 -115 o14.5 -110 N/A o13.5 -140 N/A o16.5 -124 o15.5 -117 o14.5 -105 o49.5 -114  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
u48.5 -105 u14.5 -110 N/A u13.5 +110 N/A u16.5 -112 u15.5 -107 u14.5 -125 u49.5 -106  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+205 +140 N/A +140 N/A +152 +140 N/A +250  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-250 -165 N/A -166 N/A -184 -177 N/A -310  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+5.5 -108 +0.5 -130 N/A +0.5 -118 N/A +1.5 -134 +1.5 -150 +0.5 -120 +6.5 -110  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-5.5 -112 -0.5 +110 N/A -0.5 -102 N/A -1.5 +110 -1.5 +120 -0.5 -110 -6.5 -110  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
o48.5 -115 o9.5 -130 N/A o9.5 -130 N/A o6.5 -130 o9.5 -155 o9.5 -135 o49.5 -114  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
u48.5 -105 u9.5 +110 N/A u9.5 +110 N/A u6.5 -102 u9.5 +123 u9.5 +105 u49.5 -106  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+205 +110 N/A +114 N/A +122 -103 N/A +250  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-250 -130 N/A -135 N/A -150 -122 N/A -310  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+5.5 -108 +0.5 -105 N/A +0.5 -110 N/A +1.5 -122 +1.5 -124 +2.5 -120 +6.5 -110  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-5.5 -112 -0.5 -115 N/A -0.5 -110 N/A -1.5 -100 -1.5 even -2.5 -110 -6.5 -110  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
o48.5 -115 o13.5 -125 N/A o13.5 -118 N/A o13.5 -120 o13.5 -117 o14.5 -105 o49.5 -114  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
u48.5 -105 u13.5 +105 N/A u13.5 -102 N/A u13.5 -102 u13.5 -106 u14.5 -125 u49.5 -106  
Final
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 315 Buccaneers
+205 +130 N/A +105 N/A +122 +120 N/A +250  
Detroit Lions 316 Lions
-250 -155 N/A -125 N/A -150 -150 N/A -310  

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Buccaneers vs Lions Betting Resources

Date: Sunday, January 21
Matchup: NFC South vs NFC North
Venue: Ford Field
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Time-TV: NBC, 3:00 p.m. ET

Click here for Vegas Insider senior reporter Patrick Everson's full NFL Odds Divisional Playoff Round Report containing spreads, lines, and trends for every NFL matchup.

Use our BetMGM bonus code before making your Buccaneers vs Lions pick to get bonus bets!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Analysis

The first matchup of the season between these teams was death by a thousand papercuts for Tampa Bay, as the Lions went to halftime of their Week 6 meeting leading the Bucs by a rather uneventful score of 10-3 – and slowly but surely they managed to pull away with a 20-6 victory down the stretch.

Partaking in such a low-scoring affair is very rare for a Detroit team that finished the regular season ranked 5th in points scored and 23rd in points allowed. I believe we are destined to see these teams put more points on the scoreboard this time around.

Check out our Super Bowl odds for a preview of the teams likely to be in the big game.

Detroit Lions Betting Analysis

The only real blemishes on the Lions’ resume this season was their 38-6 loss to Baltimore back in Week 7 and their 28-13 loss to Chicago in Week 14. Outside of those two losses, the only other defeats that Detroit suffered came in overtime vs. Seattle, a one-point loss to Dallas and a seven-point loss to Green Bay.

On the surface, the Lions resume may not be all that impressive aside from their 12-5 record. But make no mistake about it. Detroit is far more battle-tested than this Tampa team that posted a record of 1-5 in six matchups against playoff teams this season, with the Bucs only win of that caliber coming in Week 15 against Green Bay.

Buccaneers vs Lions Betting Trends

  • The Buccaneers are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
  • The total has gone UNDER in four of TB's last five games.
  • The Lions are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
  • The total has gone OVER in seven of Detroit's last 10 games.
  • The Buccaneers are 6-1 SU in their last seven games.

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Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson
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