The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets meet Saturday in NFL preseason action from MetLife Stadium. Tampa Bay has one exhibition game in the books so far, a 10-point loss to the Steelers. As for the Jets, they’ve been on the field twice this preseason, falling in the Hall of Fame Game before a blowout win over the Panthers last weekend. Check back all season long for free NFL picks at Sports Chat Place.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

The Buccaneers had something of a strange regular season in 2022, going a tepid 8-9 overall but still clinching the NFC South crown in a rather weak divisional year. Tampa Bay’s postseason ended quickly however, as the team fell 14-3 to the Cowboys in the Wild Card Playoffs. 

During their first preseason game of the 2023 campaign, Tampa Bay was down 17-7 at halftime versus the Steelers. The Buccaneers stayed even in the second half but still lost 27-17. QB John Wolford threw for 111 yards and a TD, while Chase Edmonds led a tepid rush on 18 yards. David Moore led the receivers on three catches for 66 yards. 

New York Jets 

Over on the Jets’ side, they got to play in the annual Hall of Fame game this year versus the Browns. New York was up 16-7 at the break in that one but didn’t score from there in a 21-16 defeat. Quarterback Tim Boyle went 6-of-11 for 61 yards, and Israel Abanikanda rushed nine times for 27 yards and a TD. Malik Taylor had one long catch for 57 yards to top the receivers. 

In preseason Week 2 against the Panthers, the Jets fared much better. New York flexed their defensive muscle in a dominant 27-0 victory. Zach Wilson and Boyle combined for three touchdowns and 207 passing yards in the win, and Michael Carter caught two balls for 34 yards. Abanikanda rushed 12 times for 56 yards to lead the rush once again. 

The Buccaneers are 4-1 ATS in their last five on turf and 2-13-1 ATS in their last 16 overall. Tampa is 1-9-1 ATS in their last 11 Saturday games. 

Meanwhile, the under is 5-0 in the Jets’ last five overall and 4-1 in their last five at home. New York is 0-4 ATS in their last four on turf. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stick with the Jets in this one. New York’s backups had a pretty mediocre finish in the opener versus the Browns, but there wasn’t much to complain about in the Panthers game. New York out-gained Carolina 333-165 (192 passing) in the win, bagging 21 first downs, a 9-of-17 rate on third- and fourth-down tries, just three penalties and one turnover. The Jets held the Panthers to only 10 first downs and a 3-of-13 mark on third and fourth downs using mostly second- and third-string players. They’ll be an interesting matchup with Tampa Bay’s passing attack (256 yards last week), but the Bucs have plenty to clean up in the meantime—namely 12 penalties and a lukewarm third-down conversion rate. New York should be in control here if they play well.