BUCS WIN FIRST OF YEAR BY DROPPING PACKERS

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won a game.  With a rookie quarterback making his first NFL start at the helm, the Bucs used a 21 point fourth quarter to put away the Green Bay Packers by a final score of 38-28.  The Bucs were the only remaining winless team in the NFL, and the victory ended the league’s longest active losing streak at 11 games.  The Bucs are now 1-7 on the season, while Green Bay evened their mark at 4-4.

NFL football betting enthusiasts who held their nose and took the winless team off a bye week were rewarded with a pointspread cover.  Tampa brought home the bacon as +9’ home dogs, covering for only the second time this season (2-6 ATS).  Green Bay evened their NFL pointspread mark at 4-4 on the year.  The 64 combined points went OVER the posted total of 43.  Both teams have now gone OVER in 5 of their 8 games.

After the game, rookie quarterback Josh Freeman said that he wasn’t overwhelmed by his first NFL experience:

“I felt really relaxed.  "I didn't get too high or too low. I can't say I did anything spectacular. I just played within myself, and when we had opportunities I took them."

Bucs fans might dispute that, since it’s reached the point that just putting a win on the boards is ‘something spectacular’.  Freeman put up good numbers, with 205 yards passing and three touchdowns against one interception.  After the contest Raheem Morris—who won his first game as a NFL head coach—praised his young quarterback and also strongly suggested that he was now the starting signal caller:

"That's a great start to how we want to be, how we want to work, how we want to play. However you do it, it's impressive. His age really doesn't matter at this point. ... He's got to lead us to where we've got to go."

The Bucs got an assist from Green Bay’s brutal pass protection, which resulted in QB Aaron Rodgers being sacked six times.  He now leads the NFL with 37 sacks in eight games:

"It's pretty frustrating. I think our offense and special teams put our defense in a tough position."

Tampa Bay has a chance to put together a winning streak this Sunday as they travel to south Florida to face the Miami Dolphins.  The Bucs are +10 road underdogs with the total set at 43’.  They’ll host the New Orleans Saints the following Sunday before traveling to Atlanta to take on the Falcons on November 29.  The Packers will host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, with Green Bay a +3 home underdog and the total set at 47’.  They’ll host the San Francisco 49ers the following week before heading to Detroit for a game on Thanksgiving Day.