Week 1 - Commanders vs. Bucs Early Betting Odds

The new look Washington Commanders will open their regular season on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend. Their Sunday afternoon clash with the Bucs will be the debut of an entirely new regime including rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

FanDuel Sportsbook has released betting odds for this week’s game and have install the Bucs as a 3.5-point favorite over the Commanders.

Washington +3.5 points: -120 (bet $120 to win $100)

Tampa Bay -3.5 points: -102 (bet $102 to win $100)

Anyone wishing to place a bet on the Commanders' money line can get odds of +148 attached currently (bet $100 to win $148). The Buccaneers are slightly favored to kick off their campaign on home soil with a victory at -176 (bet $176 to win $100).

Commanders coach Dan Quinn and coordinator Joe Whitt have added a lot of pieces on the defensive side of the ball. Last year’s unit was dead last in nearly every category, so they need to off to a hot start in the new system.

The additions of linebackers Bobby Wagner and Frankie Luvu in the middle will help stifle the run game playing behind Doran Payne and Jonathan Allen. On the edge, Washington will start with Dorance Armstrong on one side and Clelin Ferrell on the other.

On the offensive side of the ball they have the aforementioned Daniels as the signal caller and the combination of budding superstar Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler giving the team a couple of options out of the backfield both running and in the passing game.

Related: Familiarity Key for Noah Brown, Commanders

Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has worked all summer designing plays and concepts that accentuate what Daniels does best. With Terry McLaurin on the outside and the rise of Dyami Brown and the addition of Noah Brown, there is no shortage of receivers to get the ball to.

Coming off a 4-win season and opening up with a playoff team from a year ago and only being a 3.5-point underdog says a lot about how much better everyone feels the Commanders will be.

This will be a measuring-stick type game for the Commanders to see where they are, what concepts are working, and how improved is this defense.

The game is scheduled for this Sunday, Sept. 8 with kickoff scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET.