NFL Odds: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Host Baltimore Ravens for Thursday Night Football
For the Week 8 Thursday Night Football game, the Baltimore Ravens will head to Raymond James Stadium to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as 1.5-point favourites. Both teams are at the head of their respective divisions despite having lacklustre season starts; be sure to tune in to see which team takes the opportunity to right the ship. Game time is at 8:15 PM ET.
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The Ravens (4-3 SU, 2-4-1 ATS) have opened their season with notable wins over the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. Their three losses were from highly competitive teams, including the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants. They did benefit from the return of RB Gus Edwards, who was critical in the Ravens’ Week 7 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
The Buccaneers (3-4 SU, 2-5 ATS) have been relying on their defense to earn them the few wins they have this season. They started strong in the first couple of weeks, but have since slid to 1-4. In their Week 7 matchup against the Carolina Panthers, QB Tom Brady had a particularly rough outing, throwing 49 passes with zero touchdowns. Mike Evans added fuel to the fire when he dropped a nice easy pass that should have been a touchdown in the first quarter.
There are zero winning teams in the AFC North heading into Week 7. But that could all change this Sunday when the Baltimore Ravens (3-3 SU, 2-3-1 ATS) host the Cleveland Browns (2-4 SU and ATS), beginning at 1 PM ET on CBS. The Ravens are 7-point favorites at Bovada Sportsbook with a total of 46, up from 45 at the open.
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This should be a relatively pleasant Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium – at least as far as the weather is concerned. The football itself will probably be as ugly as you’d expect given the teams in action. There’s no love lost between Cleveland and the team that used to be the Browns before Art Modell backed up the moving trucks and shipped off to Baltimore in 1996. Both teams are also coming off ugly results in Week 6. The Ravens fell 24-20 to the New York Giants as 5.5-point road favorites, while the Browns lost 38-15 to the New England Patriots (+2.5 away) and third-string quarterback Bailey Zappe. To make matters worse, Baltimore RT Morgan Moses (heel) was carted off in their loss. Browns RG Wyatt Teller had to leave the game with a calf injury.
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots is one of the most interesting matchups of Week 3. Both teams are 1-1 in the 2022 NFL season, each losing to the Miami Dolphins. When it comes to their wins, the Ravens won against the New York Jets in the first week, while the Pats beat the Steelers in the second round.
The Ravens’ strongest weapon in 2022 is their offense, while their defense has been their Achilles’ heel thus far. When it comes to the Patriots, it’s just the opposite.
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots NFL Week 3 Odds
Spread
Baltimore Ravens (-3)
-115
New England Patriots (+3)
-105
Moneyline
Baltimore Ravens
-155
New England Patriots
+135
Points Over/Under
Over 42.5
-110
Under 42.5
-110
*Odds taken from DraftKings on Tuesday, September 20.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
Place: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Date: Sunday, September 25
Time: 1:00 PM ET
How to Watch: FOX
Lamar Jackson is Playing on an MVP Level
After two weeks of the 2022 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens offensive tally is 62 points. The man they should thank for this is their quarterback, Lamar Jackson. The man who won the league MVP award three years ago is 38/59 right now, with 531 passing yards to his name and six touchdowns.
He’s a dictionary definition of a double-threat quarterback, the evidence being that he’s gained a total of 136 rushing yards for the Ravens in 2022, scoring one rushing touchdown along the way.
Unfortunately for Baltimore, Jackson’s teammates haven’t been playing at the same level. This goes especially for his colleagues from the defensive team, who have been dreadful in the two games played in the 2022 season.
In Week 1, the Ravens defense did an okay job against the New York Jets, allowing only nine points. In Week 2, however, they conceded 42 points to the Miami Dolphins.
Can Patriots’ Defense Stop Jackson?
The Patriots defense has been doing a solid job in the 2022 season. In Week 1, the Pats lost to Dolphins 20-7, but their defense allowed only 13 points; the other seven came from a turnover. In Week 2, they were great as well, keeping the Steelers to 14 points. As a result, the Pats were able to record their first win of the season – they beat the Steelers by three points.
In Week 3, they need to stop Lamar Jackson, which is not going to be easy. The QB is 1-1 against them, going 41/57 in the two Ravens vs Patriots games he played so far. In those two games, we saw him throw for 412 yards and three touchdowns while getting one of his passes intercepted.
We think New England’s defense can deal with him once again, probably keeping him to under three TDs. Unfortunately for them, that might not be good enough for a win. The thing is that the Patriots offense just doesn’t look good enough to outscore the Ravens.
Their average in the 2022 NFL season is 12 points, with their second-year QB Mac Jones putting on mediocre performances thus far. He hasn’t been great with his throws, but his colleagues have been even worse. This goes especially for the Pats offensive line who really need to step up.
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots Prediction
We expect both teams to do well in the defense. When it comes to the offense, Mac Jones and the Pats aren’t going to improve their scoring average much (if all). The Ravens’ offense led by Lamar Jackson is bound to have another decent outing.
Picks: Baltimore Ravens to win and cover the spread; under to hit
