Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams NFL 9-26
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On paper, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visiting the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon as part of the NFL’s Week 3 docket looks like an absolute offensive showdown. BetOnline has this total at 55.5, their highest of the weekend, a point higher than Chargers/Chiefs and Seahawks/Vikings. That number seems to be the consensus, as BetUS has the number at 55.5 as well.
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TB Looks Repeat-Bound
The sportsbook is trying to get equal action on both teams in this matchup, so what better way to do that than make Tampa Bay just a -1 point favorite. Basically, all you have to do is pick the winner with these betting odds, but expect the public to absolutely hammer the defending Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs have looked the part so far in 2021, outlasting Dallas 31-29 in the season opener, and a flat game can be expected with all the hubbub surrounding the championship celebration.
Tampa Bay put the distractions behind them in week 2, dominating Atlanta 48-25 as -13.5 favorites. So why aren’t the Buccaneers a bigger favorite than just -125 in Moneyline betting? Mainly because their first two games were at home, and now they have to go West in the first road contest of the season.
Make no mistake, Tom Brady could be playing on Mars, and he’d still be one of the best free NFL picks of the week. Brady has 9 TD to just 2 INT on the year, throwing for 379 and 4 scores vs. Dallas in the opener and somehow topping that with 5 TD passes last week. Rob Gronkowski has caught 4 of those TD passes.
Rams Feeling Overlooked?
All of the pregame hype is going to focus on how impressive Tampa Bay has been to begin the season, but what does Sean McVay have to do to get a little love for his 2-0 Rams team? In the season opener, Los Angeles beat the Bears by 20 on Sunday Night Football and survived the dangerous “West coast team playing early East of the Mississippi” to hold off Indianapolis 27-24 last week.
Matthew Stafford did throw his first INT as a member of the Rams last week, but he still has 5 scores to 1 pick on the season, hitting on 69.6% of his passes which is impressive in a new system. The Bucs offense has been great, but their defense allowed a 400+ yard passing game to Dak Prescott in week 1 and allowed Matt Ryan to throw for 300 last week.
The Rams might have even stumbled upon a running game last week, with Darrell Henderson, Jr. and Sony Michel running for 99 yards as a combo.
Cooper Kupp looked unstoppable in the passing game as well, with 9 catches for 163 yards and 2 TD, but what makes the Rams a very solid online betting pick is their defense. LA hasn’t been overly dominant in 2021 but had the #1 defense in the league last season.
Buccaneers at Rams Betting Pick
Who wouldn’t be on Tampa Bay in this one as part of their sports betting picks? The Bucs haven’t lost a game since November 29th of last year against the Chiefs – but also did lose the game before that 27-24 to these Rams in Tampa Bay.
The Rams have waded their way through matchups with the Bears and Colts, but this is the one Stafford has circled on his calendar as the reason he was traded for in the offseason. We’ll see if Brady can keep rolling even with Aaron Donald and Leonard Floyd breathing down his neck.
Rams +1