Tampa Bay enters as a 4.5-point favorite
Tom Brady will lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers into primetime for the fourth time this season.
The Buccaneers will host the Los Angeles Rams at Raymond James Stadium on “Monday Night Football” in a game between two teams well positioned in the NFC playoff picture.
The 6-3 Rams are only one win back of the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks while the 7-3 Buccaneers are one game back of the NFC South-leading New Orleans Saints.
Here’s our betting preview for the NFC clash between the Rams and Buccaneers, a game that could go a long way in determining playoff seeding. All lines and props were provided via consensus data.
Los Angeles Rams at (-4.5) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Total: 48
BETTING TRENDS
Tampa Bay has had trouble under the bright lights this season. The Bucs are 1-2 SU in primetime games, including 0-3 ATS in said games. Tampa Bay failed to cover a 3.5-point spread in a Week 5 loss to the Chicago Bears on “Thursday Night Football” and failed to cover a 12.5-point advantage against the New York Giants during Week 8 of “Monday Night Football.” But perhaps most notably, the Buccaneers were dominated by the New Orleans Saints in Week 9 despite carrying 5.5-point advantage into that “Monday Night Football” clash.
The Rams enter Week 11 with a 5-4 record against the spread and a 2-3 clip on the road. Overall, Tampa Bay is .500 against the spread with a similar 2-3 mark at home.
The Buccaneers have hit the over six times in 10 games this season, including two of their four home games. The Rams have hit the over just two times in nine games this season, but they did so twice in five away games.
PROPS
First-half line, total
Tampa Bay -2.5, 23.5
First touchdown scorer
Mike Evans +850
Ronald Jones II +950
Darrell Henderson +950
Chris Godwin +1200
Malcolm Brown +1200
Rob Gronkowski +1300
Antonio Brown +1300
Passing yards
Tom Brady over/under 300.5
Jared Goff over/ under 279.5
Rushing yards
Ronald Jones over/under 51.5
Darrell Henderson over/under 31.5
Leonard Fournette over/under 31.5
Malcolm Brown over/under 24.5
Cam Akers over/under 17.5
Jared Goff over/under 6.5
Receiving yards
Chris Godwin over/under 60.5
Cooper Kupp over/under 59.5
Antonio Brown over/under 58.5
Mike Evans over/under 55.5
Robert Woods over/under 51.5
Tyler Higbee over/under 31.5
Rob Gronkowski over/under 31.5
Gerald Everett over/under 22.5
Leonard Fournette over/under 21.5
PICK: Rams +4.5
Los Angeles continues to fly under the radar despite its strong start, which was best depicted with a Week 10 win over Seattle. The Rams fell to the Buffalo Bills by three points and fell to an improving Miami Dolphins squad two weeks prior. They have a defense that can cause opponents fits, as was the case against Russell Wilson’s impressive Seahawks offense last week.
Meanwhile, it seems like we’ve seen snippets of how good Tampa Bay can be, we only have witnessed one dominant performance (a 35-10 win over the Green Bay Packers).
With that said, giving a 4.5-point advantage to a team that hasn’t exactly projected confidence in primetime is a bit steep. It might be best to take the points here.