I bet a lot of people had this game circled on their calendars before the season started. Now maybe not so much. Both teams have disappointed to some degree this year although the Bucs have had far more issues than the Ravens. I’ve gone back and forth here so let’s get started and see where we land.

The Spread: Ravens (-1.5)

I have a pick in mind and I don’t think any sort of X’s and O’s explanation is going to help my argument. Everything about this game says the Ravens should win. They’ve played better and Tampa has been awful lately. All I hear with that though is this sounds like a trap game for Baltimore. If they truly are that much better then they should be favored by more than 1.5. Nothing and I mean NOTHING about the way Tampa has been playing makes you think they can win this game and that’s why I like it. They need this win desperately too. Tom Brady didn’t get divorced to miss the playoffs this year and this needs to be the start of their comeback. The public is all over Baltimore too and fading them has been profitable this year. This could blow up in my face, but I’m going with the home dog.

The Play: Buccaneers +1.5

Over/Under (45)

This game seems like an over, but the way these offenses have been playing lately I’m not so sure. The last two standalone primetime games have hit to over so the heavy lean towards unders might be correcting. Still though, I like the under here. The Bucs have only scored over 21 points once and that was in a loss trying to keep up with the Chiefs. The Ravens offense started hot, but has scored between 19-23 points their last four games. I’m thinking both teams land in the low 20’s and we hit this under.

The Play: Under 45

Final Prediction

With my earlier predictions of Buccaneers +1.5 and Under 45 give me the Bucs 21-20.