The Tennessee Titans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers meet Saturday in NFL preseason action from Raymond James Stadium. This will be the first preseason game of the 2025 campaign for both teams. Here’s a Buccaneers vs Titans Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Buccaneers vs Titans pick.
Tennessee Titans Betting Preview
Needless to say, the Titans have their work cut out for them when it comes to improvement during the 2025 season. The good news however, is that Tennessee has (almost) nowhere to go but up. In their 2024 campaign, the Titans ended up finishing just 3-14 overall. Obviously, that total put the team in last place among the AFC South. Even more obviously, that total left the team out of playoff contention for the third consecutive season. It was also a failure to improve on a very modest win total (six) from the 2023 run. Tennessee was hit hard by injuries and poor play as the team had no players named to the initial AFC roster for the Pro Bowl. It was the first time that occurred since the 2014 season.
Moving on to 2025, head coach Brian Callahan gets another crack at things in his second season at the helm. He’ll get a new offensive signal-caller in former Miami (FL) quarterback Cam Ward, who was selected with the first overall pick in the 2025 draft. OLB Oluwafemi Oladejo (UCLA) joins the defensive roster as the team’s second-round selection. Oladejo certainly gives that unit an immediate boost on paper, but there are still plenty of defensive question marks to go around—namely at edge rusher. We’ll have to see how things shake out.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Preview
Over on the Buccaneers’ side, they had a much better run last year than their counterparts in this preseason game, but a quick exit from the playoffs soured what otherwise could be considered a pretty successful campaign. Tampa Bay finished 10-7 overall, landing in first place among the NFC South. That makes four straight division championships for the Bucs. Much of Tampa’s struggles were due to a midseason slump. Following a nice 3-1 start, the Buccaneers hit the skids on a 4-6 run over the ensuing 10 outings. That said, a late surge for wins in six of the final seven helped ice the playoff berth and the division championship. A wild loss to the Commanders 23-20 in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs ended the Bucs’ hopes, though. Still, that also makes five straight years qualifying for the postseason—a franchise best.
Todd Bowles is back on the sidelines for head coaching duties in Tampa Bay—this will be his fourth year, and the Buccaneers’ 50th overall. New faces on the roster via the draft include former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (first round) and a pair of cornerbacks in Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame; second round) and Jacob Parrish (Kansas State; third round). Tampa will be dealing with some big injuries right out of the gate however, including All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs (knee) and Pro Bowl wide receiver Chris Godwin (ankle).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Player Prop Facts
- Jalen McMillan has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Buccaneers’ last five regular season games.
- Baker Mayfield has recorded 288+ passing yards in four of the Buccaneers’ last five Sunday regular season games.
- Rachaad White has recorded 47+ rushing and receiving yards in 13 of his last 14 Sunday road appearances.
- Jalen McMillan has recorded 51+ receiving yards in each of the Buccaneers’ last five regular season games.
- Rachaad White has recorded 37+ rushing yards in each of the Buccaneers’ last six road games played on the East Coast.
- Baker Mayfield has recorded 24+ completions in each of the Buccaneers’ last three September games as favorites.
- Baker Mayfield recorded the equal-most passing touchdowns in a single game last season (5 vs Panthers, Week 17).
Tennessee Titans Player Prop Facts
- Tony Pollard has scored at least one touchdown in three of his last four September road appearances.
- Calvin Ridley has recorded 78+ rushing and receiving yards in each of the Titans’ last four road games against AFC opponents.
- Tyler Lockett has recorded 28+ receiving yards in each of his last nine September appearances with his team as an underdog.
- Tyjae Spears has recorded 39+ rushing yards in three of his last four road appearances against AFC opponents.
- Amani Hooker recorded the equal-most interceptions in a single game last season (2 vs Patriots, Week 9).
Buccaneers vs Titans Prediction
I’m going to lean toward the Bucs here, but you could make a case either way—especially considering that this is a preseason opener and therefore anyone’s guess. Tampa Bay may struggle out of the gate this year thanks to some injuries and young players filling out the ranks, but if all goes well the team should be competitive down the line. We’ll likely get plenty of Egbuka out on the field as Godwin heals up, and the heavy load should help the rookie to get acclimated quickly. It’s tough telling what the offense will look like under yet another new coordinator, though.
As for Tennessee, any progress in the win column this year will be seen as a step forward, and the expectations couldn’t be a whole lot lower. That could lead to (relatively) good things on the field though, as the Titans have nothing to lose.