A few weeks ago, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Christmas Eve matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looked like it’d be a cake walk.
Three straight losses for the Jaguars and three straight wins for the Buccaneers changed things quite a bit, though.
Now it’s a battle of two first place teams trying to stay atop their respective divisions. For the Jaguars, it’s a chance to pull out of a tailspin that has suddenly made their playoff hopes a little dicey. For the Buccaneers, it’s a chance to take a firm hold of the NFC South with two weeks left.
Experts haven’t been exactly sure what to make of the matchup. Here’s what they’ve predicted will happen in the Week 16 duel of Florida teams:
USA Today
Jarrett Bell: Buccaneers, 24-20
Chris Bumbaca: Buccaneers, 24-21
Nate Davis: Buccaneers, 30-17
Safid Deen: Buccaneers, 24-20
Tyler Dragon: Jaguars, 24-20
Victoria Hernandez: Buccaneers, 25-23
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Jaguars, 30-23
Lorenzo Reyes: Buccaneers, 21-17
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Buccaneers, 23-20
Brooke Cersosimo: Buccaneers, 25-24
Dan Parr: Buccaneers, 22-19
Gennaro Filice: Buccaneers, 24-21
Tom Blair: Buccaneers, 24-20
ESPN
Stephania Bell: Jaguars
Matt Bowen: Buccaneers
Mike Clay: Buccaneers
Jeremy Fowler: Buccaneers
Dan Graziano: Buccaneers
Kimberly Martin: Jaguars
Eric Moody: Buccaneers
Jason Reid: Jaguars
Lindsey Thiry: Jaguars
Sam Wickersham: Jaguars
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Jaguars
Will Brinson: Buccaneers
Jared Dubin: Jaguars
Ryan Wilson: Buccaneers
John Breech: Jaguars
Tyler Sullivan: Buccaneers
Dave Richard: Buccaneers
Jamey Eisenberg: Buccaneers
Sporting News
Jacksonville did not enjoy the AFC North tour with three consecutive losses, and now they are catching a Buccaneers’ team riding a three-game winning streak. Baker Mayfield has seven TDs and one interception the last three weeks, but he also had a completion percentage below 50% in two of those games. For now, we will assume Trevor Lawrence clears concussion protocol in a get-right game.
Pick: Jaguars 28, Buccaneers 24
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 16 picks
Gary Davenport: Buccaneers
Brad Gagnon: Jaguars
Ian Hanford: Jaguars
Kris Knox: Buccaneers
Maurice Moton: Jaguars
Wes O’Donnell: Jaguars
Brent Sobleski: Buccaneers
Bottom Line
Most experts are picking the Buccaneers to get a fourth straight win, but it’s far from a clean sweep. Here’s the final tally:
Buccaneers: 24
Jaguars: 15
