An NFC South showdown takes place on Thursday Night Football in Week 15 as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Atlanta Falcons. The Bucs are still firmly in the hunt for a division title while the visitors simply look to play spoiler with their postseason hopes all but dashed. With the pressure on, Tampa Bay should turn to its top playmakers plenty here. Could Bucky Irving have a big game in a soft matchup?
Here are the best Bucky Irving prop bets to consider on DraftKings Sportsbook for Buccaneers vs. Falcons on Thursday Night Football in Week 15.
Best Bucky Irving prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Bucky Irving’s season has been far shorter than the halfback likely hoped for given that he appeared in all of four games before foot and shoulder injuries sidelined him for over a month. There were some concerns about his health upon return, but he stifled those talks with 61 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts in his first game back on November 30. Last week, he followed it up with another 55 yards on 15 carries along with two receptions. It’s clear the Buccaneers want to ensure their young star remains involved, so bettors shouldn’t worry too much about his volume moving forward — especially in a key divisional game with every win necessary to get into the postseason.
The Falcons have experienced a rather miserable season, so the matchup looks quite good for the Tampa Bay offense. Atlanta allows 131.0 rushing yards per game on an average carry of 4.5 yards, both ranked 24th among all NFL run defenses. The interior of the defensive line is particularly soft, and with the Falcons also sitting 26th in defensive EPA/carry, there’s reason to believe the Buccaneers will pound the rock in this one. Couple that stat with the fact the Bucs likely play with positive game script against an offense led by Kirk Cousins without Drake London on the field as well, and suddenly the outlook for rush attempts only increases with a lead throughout the contest.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Irving’s prop bet lines are set at O/U 15.5 rush attempts, 61.5 rushing yards, 2.5 receptions and 22.5 receiving yards with -120 odds to score an anytime touchdown.
There are a couple of lines I quite like here, primarily the over on 61.5 rushing yards. Irving exceeded that line in three of his four games prior to his injury in Week 4, and while he’s yet to go over it in two contests since returning, he came up just shy with 61 yards in Week 13. While his 3.4 YPC isn’t a great mark, we saw the young halfback average 5.4 YPC as a rookie last season, so we know just how efficient he can be with his touches. Now that he’s a bit further removed from injury, he should feel healthier and only grow more comfortable with each passing week. With the Buccaneers likely playing from ahead, there’s a real chance Irving far surpasses his baseline of around 15 rush attempts to easily go over his yardage prop. Even if he sees a more typical workload though, his breakaway speed and ability to make defenders miss in the open field will prove crucial against this poor run defense.
With that in mind, I also like pushing the limit here with an alt line. Taking advantage of this struggling Falcons defense is key since matchups don’t get much better than this one. On DraftKings Sportsbook, bettors can take 70+ rushing yards at +130 odds, while 80+ rushing yards is available at +200 as well. Again, this is a perfect opportunity to play the matchup, especially with Baker Mayfield regressing in recent weeks and potentially leading the Buccaneers to run the ball more than usual. All it takes is one long gain to get close to this alt line, so I love Irving’s chances to hit it.
