Another of the many games that have one team with everything to play for and one with nothing takes place Sunday in San Francisco, where the NFC South champion Buccaneers (9-5) face the 49ers (4-10), with Tampa Bay 6-point favorites (over/under: 36.5) on WagerWeb.com.
Tampa Bay is attempting to earn the No. 3 seed in the NFC. The Buccaneers are currently fourth behind NFC West champion Seattle (9-5), which Tampa Bay can overtake only by finishing with a better record than the Seahawks thanks to a Week 1 loss in the Pacific Northwest.
"We want to win and to do that you have to play your best players," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said, making it clear he wouldn't be resting anyone for the playoffs.
"We are still playing for something. Some of these young guys need to play to get ready for the playoffs."
A big storyline this week is Bucs QB Jeff Garcia's return to San Francisco.
Garcia, 37, passed for 13,704 yards and 113 touchdowns with the 49ers, who have gone downhill since he left.
This season, Garcia has completed a career-high 64.2 percent of his passes for 2,244 yards and 12 TDs, while being picked off only four times. He is ranked seventh in the NFL with a quarterback rating of 93.6.
But the surprising star of the Tampa offense has been Earnest Graham, once the third-string running back.
Thanks to injuries to Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman, Graham has stepped in and has rushed for 877 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has rushed for a TD in a franchise-record six straight games.
"You can't say enough about what he's done," Gruden said of Graham, who will be facing a 49ers team that ranks 23rd in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing 119.0 yards per game.As a team, the Bucs are ranked 10th in the league with an average of 121.3 yards per game on the ground.
The 49ers' run defense has shown flashes the past two weeks, limiting Cincinnati to just 61 yards on the ground last Saturday while holding rookie of the year candidate Adrian Peterson of Minnesota to 3 yards on 14 carries the previous week.
Meanwhile, San Francisco found its rushing game against the Bengals. Frank Gore enjoyed his most productive game of the year and gained 138 yards with an average of 4.8 yards per carry. As a team, the 49ers are ranked 27th averaging 90.6 yards per game, but their 4.2 yards per carry is 10th in the NFL.
The Buccaneers own the 14th ranked run defense giving up 103.5 yards per game, but opponents are only averaging 3.7 yards per carry against Tampa Bay.
Shaun Hill gets the start again at QB for the 49ers.
The relative unknown has been solid in his two stats: against the Vikings he connected on almost 81.5 percent of his passes with one touchdown and no interceptions while this past week against the Bengals he connected on 75 percent of his passes with another touchdown and no interceptions.
The lowdown: This will be the first meeting between San Francisco and Tampa Bay since Oct. 30, 2005, when the 49ers won 15-10 at home. ... Tampa Bay is 0-5 on the West Coast since winning the Super Bowl in San Diego in Jan. 2003, including the loss in Seattle in the season opener. ... The 49ers' 10 interceptions rank them at 29th in the NFL while their 26 QB sacks put them at 25th. ... Hill is the fifth different starting quarterback - and sixth overall - since Garcia left San Francisco after the 2003 season.
... Tampa Bay's offense is nothing special, and giving up 6 points on the road is worrisome. Still, the Bucs' defense should do enough to ensure a Tampa cover.
Betting Trends
The Buccaneers are 9-5 ATS.
The Buccaneers are 3-4 ATS away.
The Buccaneers are 6-2 ATS as the favorite.
The Buccaneers are 1-1 ATS as an away favorite.
The 49ers are 4-10 ATS.
The 49ers are 2-5 ATS at home.
The 49ers are 4-9 ATS as the underdog.
The 49ers are 2-4 ATS as a home underdog.
More NFL Trends.
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