Both teams took home losses in their respective openers. Tampa Bay played well enough to win on defense but their offense’s inability to hang on to the ball proved to be their undoing. Carolina’s offense was sharp in the opener but they struggled to get off the field on third down and was gashed on the ground by the Rams’ trio of talented backs. That makes it interesting to see how things unfold.
Tampa Bay re-signed safety Andrew Adams, who picked off Newton three times last season, and it will be interesting if he will be in the mix for this game. Tampa Bay’s defense is going to be pushed by McCaffrey but one has to be concerned if he’s hauling in a ton of passes. Carolina is 0-10 in games where he catches at least seven balls and 3-6 in games where he has at least 20 touches. Keeping him the focal point via the ground game without having to make him the primary target in the passing game is important. Tampa Bay has to do a better job of holding onto the ball compared to their opener. Carolina’s offense has the upper hand and even with Tampa Bay’s defense, it’s hard to have faith in Winston right now. His three interceptions turned the game for the Buccaneers and he has to prove he can make better reads in crucial situations.
The Buccaneers are 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a losing home record, 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 30 points in their previous game and 0-5 ATS in their last five Thursday games. Last season, we saw the teams combine for 70 points in the first meeting and 41 in the second meeting. We saw entertaining contests in the opener but expecting a ton of points on short rest may be too much to ask.
The under is 6-1 in Tampa Bay’s last seven overall, 5-1 in their last six on grass, 5-1 in their last six against NFC teams, 5-1 in their last six games in week 2 and 4-1 in their last 5 games after allowing more than 30 points in their previous game. Carolina has seen the under go 4-0 in their last 4 vs. a team with a losing record, 4-1 in their last 5 games on grass and 4-1 in their last 5 games following a straight up loss. The teams have seen the under go 5-1 in their last six meetings!
Football Investment Package on a 19-6 ATS Winning Run!