NFL Thursday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Preview
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL – 1:15 AM – Friday 28th October
Week eight of the NFL season kicks off in Tampa with the 4-3 Ravens facing the 3-4 Buccaneers. This one promises to be a fascinating matchup between the most electric athlete at the quarterback position in the entire NFL, and a man who was born before the internet was invented. Brady’s age may finally be catching up with him, as he has struggled to get the offence going at times this year. The Bucs are on a dramatic slide, losing four of their last five games including a shocking loss to a coachless and McCaffrey-less Carolina Panthers, who are seemingly actively trying to lose games in order to get a higher draft pick.
The Ravens bounced back from a disappointing loss at the hands of the New York Giants with a win over division rivals Cleveland Browns last week, and a huge benefit of that was it’s the first time they’ve won a game this season where Lamar Jackson didn’t have to be a superhero. In the early stages of the season, it looked as if the Ravens would have to change the franchise’s name to the Baltimore Fightin’ Lamar Jacksons, but the defence and skill position guys have started to step up in recent weeks.
Ravens at Buccaneers Picks
Moneyline: Ravens – 21/20 with Boyle Sports
Spread: Ravens +1.5 – 10/11 with Unibet
Over/Under: Under 46 Points – 10/11 with 888Sport
(Odds correct as of 4 pm 27/10)
The Buccaneers are on a run of five straight losses against the spread and it’s very hard to trust them as favourites here. The departure of Bruce Arians seems to have had a bigger effect than many had expected, and the offence is really struggling. The safe money, therefore, seems to be with a Baltimore team that has a winning record despite not putting a complete performance on both sides of the ball together yet. The Ravens D has been good against the pass and poor against the run, which benefits them for this game in that they are playing one of the worst rushing teams in the history of the NFL.
Currently the #Buccaneers are literally the worst rushing team in NFL history. pic.twitter.com/cQ2Idit6na
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 26, 2022
As for the points total, Thursday night Football games this season have been mostly very low-scoring (last week notwithstanding) and the Under is 6-1 in Tampa Bay’s last seven games. On top of that, the Ravens haven’t gone past 23 points in their past four games, so I’m confidently betting the Under this week.
Ravens at Buccaneers Player Prop Bets
Lamar Jackson Over 9.5 Rushing attempts – 46/63 with 888Sport
The odds aren’t the kindest on this one, but it’s a nice one to add to the accumulator. Jackson has gone over this line in four of his last five games and I fancy Harbaugh to look to get him involved in the run game early and often.
Lamar Jackson Under 29.5 Passing attempts – 10/11 with 888Sport
Maybe this is recency bias, but Jackson’s 16 attempts last week has put me off this line. He has only gone past this total three times this season, and if the Ravens have a favourable game script as I’m expecting, he shouldn’t have to throw it too much.
Gus Edwards Anytime Touchdown – 33/20 with Unibet
The Gus Bus always impresses when called upon. He averaged 5.0+ yards per carry in everyone one of his first three seasons, and is a true threat in goal-to-go situations. Any time the Ravens get close to the goal line, Edwards is very much in the game, and at these odds you fancy your chances.
Chris Godwin Over 72.5 Receiving Yards – 9/10 with PariMatch
As I’ve already mentioned, the Bucs’ rushing game is historically bad, and I expect them to be playing from behind in this game, that means their receivers should be seeing plenty of the ball against a Ravens secondary that has been inconsistent. I like Godwin to see a fair amount of targets in this one, and maybe even a deep ball or two headed his way, taking him over this line.
