Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers odds, picks and predictions

Kevin Erickson | Staff Writer

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-8) and Carolina Panthers (2-14) meet Sunday for the Week 18 regular-season finale at Bank of America Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (FOX). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the Buccaneers vs. Panthers odds, and make our expert NFL picks and predictions.

The Buccaneers will be playing hard, as they need a win for an NFC South Division title. Tampa Bay was tripped up 23-13 at home against the New Orleans Saints in Week 17, yet it still controls its own destiny. That loss halted a 4-game win streak, and a 3-game cover streak. The Under has cashed in consecutive games for the Bucs.

The Panthers played the Bucs tough in Tampa in Week 13, falling 21-18 to cover a 3.5-point number with a late TD and 2-point conversion as the Over (37) was also flipped with the score. Carolina scored 30 points in its most recent home game against the Green Bay Packers in Week 16 on Christmas Eve, but it was shut out in Jacksonville last weekend, 26-0. The Under is 3-1 in the past 4 games overall.

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Buccaneers at Panthers odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:51 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): Buccaneers -210 (bet $210 to win $100) | Panthers +176 (bet $100 to win $176)
Against the spread (ATS): Buccaneers -4.5 (-105) | Panthers +4.5 (-115)
Over/Under (O/U): 36.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Buccaneers at Panthers key injuries

Buccaneers

LB K.J. Britt (calf) doubtful
CB Carlton Davis (concussion) questionable
LB Cam Gill (knee) questionable
DT Mike Greene (calf) out
WR Rakim Jarrett (quadriceps) questionable
TE Ko Kieft (shoulder) questionable
QB Baker Mayfield (ribs) questionable
WR Trey Palmer (hip) questionable

Panthers

LB Tae Davis (illness) questionable
LB Marquis Haynes (concussion) out
CB Jaycee Horn (toe) questionable
OG Cade Mays (finger) doubtful
PK Eddy Pineiro (hamstring) doubtful

Buccaneers at Panthers picks and predictions

Prediction

Buccaneers 26, Panthers 13

Moneyline

The Buccaneers (-210) will cost you more than 2 times your potential return, and that's too much risk on a moneyline play. My personal limit for standalone wager is -180, although if you had the Bucs as part of a 6- or 7-team parlay, I could live with the price.

PASS.

Against the spread

The BUCCANEERS -4.5 (-105) are a good play as they're fighting for a division title against a 2-win team.

And if Mayfield's questionable tag is a concern for you, don't let that dissuade. He's playing. Mayfield has a ton of financial incentives in his contract, so there is virtually no way he isn't playing, unless his arm falls off.

Mayfield receives $1 million if the team wins the NFC South title. In addition, he has several incentives if he finishes top 10 in the league in TD passes, yards, passer rating and yards per attempts, so he can't afford to not play. Literally. If he cashes all of the incentives, he'll make an extra $2.2 million, on top of the 1-year, $4 million base salary. So yeah, he'll be playing, and he'll be playing with a lot of juice, especially against the team which basically gave up on him last season, too.

Over/Under

OVER 36.5 (-110) is worth a look, even though the Panthers haven't exactly been killing it offensively. I think the Bucs keep their foot on the gas and try and roll up some momentum heading into the playoffs. The Over cashed, barely, in the first meeting in Tampa, too.

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