Bucs vs Bills: Best Props for Thursday Night Football

Bucs vs Bills Best Props for Thursday Night Football

The NFL’s Week 8 slate kicks off Thursday Night when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) head north to face off against the Buffalo Bills (4-2).

The Buccaneers come into the contest having lost two straight, including a deflating 16-13 loss to NFC South rival Atlanta Sunday. The Falcons punished Tampa Bay with their ground game, rushing 38 times for 156 yards. But a 39-yard pass to Atlanta TE Kyle Pitts set up the game-winning field goal as time expired.

Buffalo enters the game having lost two of its last three games, including a 29-25 upset to New England last week. The Patriots outgained the Bills offensively 364-339 yards, leading nearly the entire game except for a 105-second stretch with under two minutes to play. New England QB Mac Jones led an eight-play, 75-yard comeback drive to beat the Bills.

With both teams needing a win, which players will have the most impact on this Thursday night tilt? Find out which players both fans and bettors alike should expect to produce results with our best Thursday Night Football player prop bets picks for NFL Week 8.

Josh Allen OVER 255.5 Passing Yards (PointsBet)

The Bills have one of the best QBs in the league with Josh Allen under center. Over his six-year career, Allen has completed 63% of his passes for 20,238 yards and 153 TDs while also rushing for 3,235 yards and 42 TDs. He’s also led the Bills to a 56-27 record as a starter since 2018.

This season, Allen has completed over 70% of his passes for 1,841 yards and 15 TDs. Buffalo’s QB averages 263 yards passing per game, so the question bettors have to answer is if Allen can surpass that amount against Tampa Bay.

Expect Allen to do that easily. The Buccaneers have surrendered over 275 yards on three separate occasions to QBs Kirk Cousins, Jalen Hurts, and Jared Goff. Allen will add his name to this list as Tampa Bay will struggle to slow down Buffalo’s passing attack.

James Cook UNDER 55.5 Rushing Yards (PointsBet)

Second-year RB James Cook is undeniably the leader of the Bills’ backfield. The University of Georgia product has rushed 88 times for 419 yards and a score while also catching 17 passes for 186 yards and another score.

While Cook averages 15 touches each game, the RB has had an up-and-down season. In the past two games, Cook easily surpassed the betting mark for this week’s contest with 127 combined rushing yards against Buffalo’s past two opponents. Prior to that, Cook had two straight games with a combined 25 rushing yards.

Likewise, bettors shouldn’t expect his matchup against the Buccaneers to be a strong rushing performance. Tampa Bay is a Top 10 rushing defense, having allowed an average of just 80 yards per outing. And with RB Latavius Murray and QB Josh Allen swiping run opportunities each game, Cook should finish under 55.5 yards Thursday night.

Rachaad White Anytime TD Scorer +170 (FanDuel)

The Buccaneers have found a reliable RB in Rachaad White, a second-year player out of Arizona State. White leads the team with 83 carries for 266 rushing yards and one TD. The Buccaneers’ RB is third on the team in targets (23), catching 22 of those for 163 yards.

Although White hasn’t scored much this season, his team-leading 18 touches per game gives him plenty of opportunity to do so against the Bills. Buffalo has surrendered on average 143 combined rushing and receiving yards to opponents this season.

With the Bills giving up five rushing TDs over the last four games, expect White to be the next RB to score against Buffalo. This is especially true if WR Chris Godwin – a limited practice participant on Tuesday due to his neck issue – cannot play on Thursday night.

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Ernie Horn


Sports Betting Contributor

Ernie is a 25-year veteran of the newspaper industry. He spent those early years working as a sports reporter and editor, but made the move back to the digital world in 2022. Ernie covers college football and NFL betting for Hello Rookie.