The stakes are high in Week 9’s Monday Night Football meeting between the Buccaneers and the Chiefs, especially for the former.
Tampa Bay started the year 3-1, with impressive wins over Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia. But the Bucs have lost three of their last four, and their next two opponents, the Chiefs tonight and the 49ers next Sunday, played in the Super Bowl a year ago.
The 7-0 Chiefs, on the other hand, are the NFL‘s only undefeated team, but every game is pressure-packed when you’re eyeing a third consecutive Super Bowl.
In a matchup featuring Kansas City’s elite defense and unpredictable offense — six Chiefs, including WRs Xavier Worthy and Mecole Hardman, have rushed for a TD this year, and five players have at least one receiving TD — finding value in the Anytime Touchdown markets is a challenge.
But that won’t stop us from throwing out two of our best Buccaneers vs. Chiefs ATTD bets, one from each team, ahead of the final game of the NFL‘s Week 9 slate.
Bucky Irving Anytime TD (+270) FanDuel
We’re going to start the ATTD party for tonight with a high-risk, high-reward roll of the dice on the Bucs’ promising rookie running back.
Kansas City has only allowed four rushing TDs this year. Still, Irving feels like as good of a bet as anyone on the Bucs offense to find the end zone in this game.
He is listed as questionable (toe) but is expected to play a big role for Tampa Bay tonight despite his injury designation, which he also carried into last week’s home matchup against division rival Atlanta.
Being listed on the injury report didn’t stop Irving from racking up 16 touches against Atlanta (nine rushes for 44 yards, seven catches for 40 yards). That should bode well for his potential production vs. Kansas City, even if he’s not quite 100 percent healthy.
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The rookie fourth-rounder is off to a great start to his career, and he has scored a rushing touchdown in three of the last five games. With QB Baker Mayfield’s top red-zone targets (WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin) sidelined, Irving should get a healthy dose of touches near the goal line.
Bucs tight end Cade Otton is coming off two huge games since the injuries to Evans and Godwin. But that could work in Irving’s favor if the underrated Kansas City linebackers look to force someone besides Otton to beat this defense. Otton has 17 catches for 181 yards and 2 TDs on 20 targets the last two weeks, with both scores coming against the Falcons.
Between his toe injury and the tough defense he is facing, we understand why Irving’s ATTD odds are close to 3-to-1. We nevertheless find him tempting at this price, though, especially after he drew seven targets from Mayfield, converting them into seven catches for 40 yards, last Sunday.
Another reason to like Irving is his big-play ability. The former Oregon Duck has already broken off three runs of 30 yards or longer, and he’s also proven to be dangerous in the open field as a pass-catcher.
On a night when the ATTD pickings on the Tampa Bay side are slim, Irving’s potentially increased role amid his team’s injury issues should not be ignored. He’s especially intriguing if not only Evans and Godwin, but also reserve receivers Sterling Shepard and Jalen McMillan (both of whom are listed as questionable), are unable to go.
Bucky Irving Anytime TD (+270): 0.25 units
Travis Kelce Anytime TD (+120) FanDuel
While Irving represents a deep cut on the Tampa Bay side, we’re going with the biggest name at Patrick Mahomes’ disposal for our best Chiefs ATTD bet.
Kelce appears poised to break out over the next few weeks after a slow start to this season. Since Kansas City drafted WR Rashee Rice in 2023, Kelce has gotten fewer looks with Rice on the field.
With Rice sidelined the last few weeks, Kelce has been busy, as my colleague Matt Modi pointed broke down in depth in his take on the best Bucs vs. Chiefs player props.
Kelce has averaged nine targets over Kansas City’s last four games.
That’s only yielded one TD reception for the veteran tight end with 75 career TD grab. If he continues to get that many opportunities, he’s great value at plus-money to score a touchdown against a Bucs defense that has allowed the third-most passing yards in the NFL and 15 TDs through the air.
Just last week, for example, Falcons TE Kyle Pitts burned the Bucs secondary for four catches for 91 yards and two TDs.
Travis Kelce Anytime TD (+120): 0.75 units
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