Los Angeles Rams vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction: Can the Rams Cover on the Road?
Los Angeles Rams vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction: Can the Rams Cover on the Road?
The NFL returns on Sunday afternoon and what a battle we have coming up. The Los Angles Rams will travel into Tampa Bay to take on the defending champion Bucs. The Rams come into this game, coming off a dominant blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals. The Buccaneers enter this game fresh off a big win over the Eagles in a game that was not ever really all that close.
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Los Angeles Rams vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers Prediction
This game we expect to come down to the wire today. Yesterday, both non-public teams covered the spread as the Bengals covered their plus three and a half, and the 49ers covered their plus five and a half, both actually winning outright.
The narrative in this game is around Matthew Stafford and if he can actually win big games. Stafford was able to quiet some of his critics after a big win over the Cardinals, but today's game could really silence his haters if the Rams are able to pull off the win and reach the NFC Championship.
The Buccaneers will look to continue their dominance and reach their second consecutive NFC championship, and for Tom Brady appearing in conference championships has become a normal thing. The Rams come into this game as a three-point underdog and will look to pull off the upset today.
The pick I am going with in this game is going to be to back the road team in the LA Rams. I know it is terrifying to fade Tom Brady, and that is one of the things in gambling I try to avoid, but getting points in this game seems like great value. This Rams team, to me, is the more talented team on both sides of the football, and this game comes down to the play of Matthew Stafford.
We saw in the games yesterday that turnovers can lose games this time of the season, so Stafford will have to protect the football. The advantage for me is this Rams defensive lead led by Von Miller and Aaron Donald. If you look at teams Brady lost to this season and ib big games of his career; it has been teams that can rush the passer and force Brady to get out of the pocket.
The game plan from the Rams is going to have to be a similar plan to what the Saints did against Brady or what they did the first time these two teams played. The Bucs are also not that healthy up front, with two of their best linemen being banged up. Even if they do play, they will be nowhere near one hundred percent, which is a scary sight facing this Rams front. The Bucs are also without their best wide receiver and lost Antonio Brown, who was one of Brady's favorite targets during the season. I think the Rams win this game outright and get to the NFC Championship.
Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Line Movement
Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pick
- Pick: Rams +3 -110 (Bet $110 to win $100)
Article Author
Matt McCuen is a native of Delco, PA. He has been working in the sports gambling industry and creating content for the last few years. He is an expert in numerous different sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and collegiate sports. You can follow Matt on Twitter at @DeadPresPicks.