FOX Bet Super 6: Bucs-Eagles picks to win $100,000 free
By Kevin Cooney
Special to FOX Sports
When the final seconds ticked off the Lincoln Financial Field clock on that mid-October Thursday night, it seemed pretty certain that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Philadelphia Eagles had different January fates that were not going to intersect.
The Bucs looked poised for a repeat after that 28-22 win. The Eagles — who were 2-4 at the time — could have been ticketed for a Top 5 draft pick with its sloppy and inconsistent play. Nobody would have thought that Jalen Hurts and Tom Brady would meet again — at least this season.
And yet, thanks to a powerful offensive line that got healthy, a running game that produced and a weak schedule filled with NFC East cupcakes — the Eagles have arrived as the No. 7 seed in the NFC. They will head to Tampa Bay on Sunday (1 p.m. ET on FOX) to face a Buccaneers team that is still the No. 2 seed in the NFC tournament, but without Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown from that first matchup and some other injury concerns along the way in the offense.
The Bucs could still end up playing for another Lombardi trophy — which would be the eighth for the G.O.A.T. — but their role as NFC favorite has been usurped by the Green Bay Packers.
More importantly, you could take home $100,000 on Eagles-Buccaneers by playing FOX Bet Super 6. Just identify the correct answers to all six questions, and you could cash in on the jackpot. Just download the free FOX Bet Super 6 app on your phone or mobile device to play. It’s quick, easy and fun.
Here are the questions for Sunday afternoon’s contest.
How many total touchdowns will there be in the game?
0-3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8-plus
The weather in Tampa on Sunday is scheduled to be dicey with rain in the forecast and the potential to see winds around 30 miles per hour. For the Eagles, that’s good news since they will need to lean on Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard to run the football behind the powerful offensive line led by Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson. That could mean less time of possession for Brady, who still figures to lean on Rob Gronkowski — who missed the first game between the two — to make up for Godwin’s absence. One thing to keep in mind is the Eagles defense plays off the ball a ton in the passing game, allowing a ton of underneath routes. That sounds like a potentially big night for Gronk.
Prediction: 6
Which team will have the highest kick return average, and what will that average be?
Eagles, Buccaneers, or Tie, with ranges from 1 to 26-plus yards
Both teams finished the regular season in the bottom third in kickoff return average — the Bucs were 26th in the NFL at 19.7 and the Eagles were 29th at 18.5. The weather — especially the wind — could figure into more opportunities for both teams to return kickoffs. The track may make the already putrid averages lesser. Prediction: Eagles, 0-18
Which team will have the highest punt average, and what will that average be?
Eagles, Buccaneers, or Tie, with ranges from 1 to 47-plus yards
Arynn Siposs is averaging 43.9 yards per punt for the Eagles but had a disastrous Week 18 against the Cowboys that led to Dallas’ put-away score right before the half. Bradley Pinion returned last week for the Buccaneers and is averaging 42.5 yards per punt — only 27th in the NFL. Again, the weather is a factor as well.
Prediction: Eagles, 40
Which team will have the longest field goal, and how long will it be?
Eagles, Buccaneers, or Tie, with ranges from 1 to 54-plus yards
Ryan Succop has gone a full season with only one attempt from beyond 50 yards — he missed it. He’s 7 for 11 from 40-yards plus — a trend to keep in mind for later in the playoffs. Jake Elliott has the bigger leg and is 13-for-16 from 40-yards plus and is perfect (3-for-3) from 50 plus. The problem here: if the Eagles are kicking field goals, they are going to get smoked.
Prediction: Tie
Which team will have the most solo tackles, and how many will they have?
Eagles, Buccaneers, or Tie, with ranges from 1 to 46-plus yards
The Buccaneers had 73 snaps against the Eagles in that October meeting against Philadelphia’s 47. That means that the Eagles will have a lot more tackling opportunities — Philadelphia had 45 solos against the Bucs whereas Tampa had 26 against the Eagles. In other words, while the Eagles are likely to have more tackles, that’s not likely to be a good thing for Philadelphia.
Prediction: Eagles, 41
Who wins and by how many points?
Eagles or Buccaneers, with ranges from 1 to 17-plus points
There has been progress with the Eagles under Hurts and Nick Sirianni. But there’s a couple of undeniable facts. First, the best quarterback they beat all year was Matt Ryan in Week 1. Brady completed 81 percent of his passes against them in Week 6 in Philadelphia — a trend that was evident in almost every elite level quarterback (Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr, Patrick Mahomes) that Philadelphia faced this year. Plus, the Bucs have known for months that the only thing they are judged on is this stretch between now and Valentine’s Day. Brady still has Mike Evans and Gronkowski to rip the Philly secondary apart, and he’s played in enough bad weather games in New England to not let that get to him. The Bucs advance to host another week.
Prediction: Buccaneers by 17-plus points
Play FOX Super 6 every week for your chance to win thousands of dollars every week. Just download the Super 6 app and make your picks today!