The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could gain clarity on their quarterback situation as they visit the New York Jets as NFL odds underdogs for a preseason showdown on Saturday night.
Tampa Bay (0-1) is still looking to determine whether they’ll be giving the starting quarterback job to veteran Baker Mayfield or former Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask. They’ll both have work to do against a Jets (1-1) defense that held the Carolina Panthers scoreless last week.
The Jets are once again expecting to play without Aaron Rodgers, instead giving Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle the ball against Tampa Bay. We’ll discuss how these decisions might impact Saturday’s game in our free NFL picks and predictions for Buccaneers vs. Jets on August 19.
Buccaneers vs Jets odds
Buccaneers vs Jets predictions
One of the most revealing aspects of last weekend’s preseason games was the defensive display put on by the Jets. Heading into their game against Carolina, it was expected that even the second-unit secondary for the Jets would give Bryce Young and company trouble.
However, the truly impressive unit was the defensive line, which hounded Carolina’s signal callers all day long. The Jets managed to record five sacks and eight quarterback hits, even without their four starting lineman playing a single snap during the contest.
That sparked an impressive 27-0 win over the Panthers. Now, New York should get a bit of a tougher test against Mayfield, who has five years of NFL experience under his belt. Baker Mayfield has never lived up to the promise he showed in his first few years with the Cleveland Browns, however, which has forced him into a quarterback battle with Kyle Trask, who played in just one game for the Bucs in his rookie campaign last season.
Trask spent two years as a starter with Florida, throwing 68 touchdowns against 15 interceptions over 24 games during that span. Tampa Bay went on to draft him in the second round, a high enough pick that suggests they want to get some value from him in the future. Depending on what happens over the next couple of weeks, the future could be now.
The Jets should once again be able to play effective defense against an opposing preseason offense. New York showed incredible depth in the game against Carolina, with their rotational players, second unit, and even third-string defenders dominating the equivalent talent on the other side of the ball. The Jets will also be giving their starters at least a few reps on defense in Saturday’s game, which makes the situation even tougher for the Tampa Bay offense as it searches for a leader.
The Jets aren’t without problems on the offensive end themselves, either. New York is still trying to figure out what it is doing with its offensive line, which has emerged as a weak spot. The line struggled against the Buccaneers pass rush unit in the joint practice held between the teams this week, which could cause trouble for Zach Wilson as he tries to prove he can be a reliable backup to Rodgers.
These matchups make me feel as though the defenses should have the best of the action in this one. While the total has been set relatively low, a number of 37 isn’t an outlandish Over/Under for any preseason game, let alone one in which both offenses might be struggling for points for much of the game.
With both teams struggling for offensive consistency, and given the defensive talent on display — especially for the Jets — I’m playing the Under on this game, and would stick with it even if the total goes back down a half-point.
My best bet: Under 37 (-110 at Caesars)
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