Following their 27-24 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have entered the week as an underdog to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs ahead of their Sunday’s clash at Raymond James Stadium. Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe and analyst Skip Bayless, hosts of Fox Sports’ “The Undisputed,” were both shocked by the development, expressing displeasure on the latest episode of their show. “I am surprised. I was trying to go back and I can’t remember a time when Tom Brady was at New England and he was an underdog, especially by four points at home,” said Sharpe, as transcribed by the author from the show’s YouTube video.
Sharpe added that Brady has probably been an underdog in the last decade by just four or five times. The former tight end said the odds may be just an overreaction to the Buccaneers’ performance in their loss to the Rams on Monday Night Football (MNF) to the performance of Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “This is mainly because of Mahomes and their offense,” said Sharpe.
Bayless says no way Bucs are underdog to Chiefs
Bayless shared Sharpe’s sentiment, saying there’s no way that the Buccaneers, who are ranked by Pro Football Focus as the N0. 5 team, can be underdogs to the No. 8 Chiefs. Bayless said he can’t believe that the Buccaneers, who were a 5.5-point favorite over Rams at one point, are now four-point underdogs to the Chiefs.
“It doesn’t add up,” said Bayless. The veteran analyst also based his assessment on the recent performances of the Buccaneers and the Chiefs against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Bayless said Brady and the Buccaneers won 45-20 over the Raiders while the Chiefs were saved by a last-minute touchdown pass by Mahomes in their 33-31 win over Las Vegas.
Against the Raiders, Brady completed 33 of 45 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and ran for another score. Mahomes, for his part, was 34-of-45 for 348 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. As of the latest odds at BetMGM Sportsbook, according to Johnny Parlay of USA Today, the Chiefs are a 3.5-point favorite over the Buccaneers.
A report by SportsLine indicated that the Buccaneers are a three-point underdog on the William Hill Sportsbook NFL odds for Sunday.
Bayless, Sharpe expects Brady to light up scoreboard vs Chiefs
Sharpe said he expects Brady to bounce back strong on Sunday, especially with the Chiefs’ weak defensive unit, which tallied only seven sacks in the last six games. “Remember what Tom Brady did to Carolina when they did not pressure him, he carved them up,” said Sharpe. The Hall of Fame tight end said Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had an outstanding performance against the Chiefs, completing 23 of 31 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. Bayless said Brady is always at his best following a loss, believing that the veteran quarterback will do damage to the Chiefs’ defense. However, Bayless is worried that the Buccaneers defense might fail anew against the Chiefs, just like what they did against the Rams.