Eagles vs Buccaneers Wild Card Round Player Props and NFL Bets: Quarterback Shuffle

Prop bet #1: White light, White heat

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Rachaad White has emerged as a dual threat in the backfield. He rushed for nearly 1,000 yards (990) on 272 carries with 64 catches on 70 targets. 

It took White a few weeks to get fully integrated into the passing game but he was a big part of it for most of the season. After having 16 catches for 98 yards (19.6 per) through his first five games, White averaged 37.6 receiving yards per game over the Bucs' final 12 contests. In those final 12 games, White went Over 21.5 receiving yards in all but two of them.

Overall, White has gone Over 21.5 receiving yards in 13 of 17 games this season, and he even just squeaked by with 24 yards on three catches in the lone meeting against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Although the Eagles took it to the Buccaneers in that Week 3 meeting, both teams are in much different places now.

"It doesn't compare because we played (the Eagles) so early in the year," Tampa Bay head coach Todd Bowles said. "We were still growing, (and) I'm sure they were still growing. You know, playoff time is different, it's one and done, everybody is nicked up and everybody is hurt. It's just a matter of who makes the most mistakes."

White is the Buccaneers’ third-most targeted player after wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He has a stranglehold on Tampa Bay’s backfield ahead of Chase Edmonds.

The Eagles allowed 267.7 receiving yards per game (fifth-most), including 32.1 yards to running backs. White can make defenders miss and all it’ll take is him breaking a run-after-catch or two to hit his mark.

Rachaad White prop: Over 21.5 receiving yards (-114 at FanDuel)

Prop bet #2: A Baker's dozen

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield also had a bit of a slow start to the season. 

He threw for two touchdowns in the opener against Minnesota and three TDs a few weeks later in New Orleans, but still only had a total of eight touchdowns through his first six games. 

Mayfield has been consistently throwing for at least two touchdowns in the last 11 games, however, hitting that mark in eight of those 11 contests for a total of 20 touchdowns.

The Eagles have several cornerbacks and safeties on the injury report. Starting safety Sydney Brown is out with a knee injury, Reed Blankenship is questionable with a groin injury, and Darius Slay remains out after undergoing knee surgery. 

"We need all players, coaches, all staff, all hands on deck, leaving everything they've got in this locker room because everybody's 0-0 going into this week," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Although the Birds haven’t been having an exceptional amount of trouble defensively through the air recently, they also haven’t played any decent quarterbacks. Dak Prescott threw for 271 yards and two scores against them back in Week 14 and Kyler Murray threw for multiple touchdowns (three to be exact) with 228 yards in their penultimate regular-season game.

Take Mayfield to throw for at least two passing touchdowns at plus money on Monday night.

Baker Mayfield prop: Over 1.5 passing TDs (+114 at DraftKings) 50% boost available

Prop bet #3: Hurts but no pain

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is also on the injury report with a gruesome-looking middle finger injury. He left the regular-season finale but should be good to go on Monday night.

Hurts’ injury is much more likely to impact his passing ability, which may be a blessing in disguise for both the quarterback and the offense as a whole. The Eagles could choose to use Hurts’ dual-threat ability to their advantage, just like they did in the regular season against Tampa Bay when Hurts ran for 28 yards on 10 carries, including a one-yard touchdown.

Hurts finished the season tied with Josh Allen for the most rushing touchdowns among QBs with 15. He scored in 11 of 17 games this season, including four games with two rushing touchdowns.

The Birds have one of the best weapons in the game with the tush push. Hurts has been the beneficiary of more than a few touchdowns that way this season and could very well score on one on Monday night in Tampa Bay.

We’re getting some favorable odds at FanDuel (-120) with Hurts to score a touchdown as high as -140 and -160 at other books.

Jalen Hurts prop: Anytime touchdown (-120 at FanDuel)