Our Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers prediction takes a look at the Week 15 matchup that features an impressive QB battle.
Let’s dive into the current NFL betting odds, key storylines to watch, and make a prediction for the game. Note that all odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Bengals vs. Buccaneers Odds
- Spread
Bengals -3.5 - Moneyline
Bengals -200, Buccaneers +170 - Over/Under
44.5 points
Bengals vs. Buccaneers Prediction
The Bengals are putting the NFL on notice with their recent performance. After starting out the season 0-2, Cincinnati has won nine out of their last 11 games and are currently on a five-game winning streak heading into this matchup against the Buccaneers.
The Bengals seem like one of the toughest teams to beat currently and appear poised to lock up at least a Wild Card spot in this year’s playoffs. However, the division title is very much still in play. While Baltimore currently has an identical record and own the tiebreaker, the Ravens are dealing with some injuries at the QB position.
This becomes an even more important game for Cincinnati to pull out a win and potentially get ahead of Baltimore to secure their spot in the 2022 NFL playoffs. They’ll need to be sharp this week though against a Buccaneers defense that’s playing much better than their record indicates.
MORE: Ravens vs. Browns Prediction, Odds, and Picks for Week 15
It’s been a rough season offensively for Tampa Bay, but their defense still ranks in the top 10 in terms of least points allowed this year at 19.5 per game. The Bengals figure to be down a playmaker or two offensively this week, which means that Joe Burrow will need to be incredibly sharp as a passer to continue this winning streak.
Even if the offense falters slightly, Cincinnati’s defense should easily take care of business this week against Tampa Bay’s offense. Over the last three games, the Buccaneers are averaging the fewest points per game with just 13.7. During that same time frame, Cincinnati is allowing the sixth-fewest points per game.
If the Bengals’ defense can continue to perform as they have in recent weeks since the return of DJ Reader, Cincinnati should advance to 10 wins on the year.
As for the Tampa Bay side, not much has gone right offensively in recent weeks. Aside from the late-game comeback from Tom Brady in Week 13, the Bucs’ offense has struggled to make much of an impact. They’re averaging just 13.7 points per game over their last three contests, as mentioned above, and everything simply looks out of sync.
While Tampa’s defense has done enough to keep them somewhat within games — aside from last week’s blowout loss — the focus has to be on fixing the offense and getting everyone on the same page. This isn’t a week where we can envision that easily happening, though, with the Bengals being one of the toughest units to go up against this season.
The key to winning this matchup for Tampa Bay is going to come down to somehow jump-starting the run game. With their duo of running backs, the Buccaneers need to find a way to spark the offense in that phase of the game and take some pressure off of Brady and the passing game.
Unfortunately, it’s a very tough matchup against the defense that’s allowed just the seventh-fewest rushing yards over the last three weeks.
Bengals vs. Buccaneers Score Prediction
Bengals 24, Buccaneers 17
