Tampa Bay opens at Cincinnati in the game carrying the highest total on the Week 1 board. Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET at Paycor Stadium on FOX, the Bengals are favored by 3.5, and the over/under is 50.5.
What time is Buccaneers vs Bengals, and what channel?
Sunday, September 13 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, carried regionally. Out of market viewers need NFL Sunday Ticket.
The matchup
This is the game the market expects to produce points. At 50.5 it is the only Week 1 total at 50 or above, three full points clear of the next highest. Two offenses that can score and two defenses the market does not fully trust is the usual recipe for a number that high.
Cincinnati is a 3.5 point home favorite, the standard price for a home team the market considers modestly better.
Prediction and odds
Bengals -3.5 and the over. Backing an over at the highest number on the board is uncomfortable, but the alternative is betting that a game the entire market has flagged as a shootout turns into a slog in Week 1, when defenses are usually behind offenses.
Our pick: Bengals 30, Buccaneers 24.
The bottom line
The highest total of opening weekend, in the early window, on FOX. If you are picking one early game to watch for entertainment rather than stakes, this is it.