Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Preview
Where: Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, Florida
When: Sunday, September 25, 4:05 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Rams (+5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5); total: 42.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
Writer’s Pick: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5)
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Betting on the Los Angeles Rams (+5)
The Rams offense is still a tire fire, though. It has yet to score a touchdown through two games. That’s bad. It wasn’t as bad as the 3.1-yard-per-play monstrosity that was Week 1, but it still averaged below 5 yards per play, albeit against a very good Seattle defense.
Todd Gurley, by far their best offensive player, had another subpar game running the ball, and is averaging below 3 yards per carry on the season. On the bright side, though, Case Keenum was actually competent. He went 18-of-30 for 239 yards, but more importantly, he had no turnovers.
No one will confuse Keenum for Carson Palmer, or Kenny Britt for Julio Jones, but the Falcons and Cardinals have shown that you can still throw on this Bucs pass defense, which is still lacking a consistent pass rush. Keenum had by far his best game of last season against the Tampa Bay defense. He completed 14-of-17 passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns in a 31-23 Rams win.
Meanwhile, the defense showed what its fully capable of as it completely shut down Russell Wilson and the Seahawks offense. And just like against Seattle, that dominant Rams D-line has been a big reason for its domination of the Buccaneers. They are 4-0 SU/ATS in their last four meetings against Tampa.
Betting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5)
Just like in his rookie year, Jameis Winston has been inconsistent through the first two weeks. The second-year pro looked awesome in Week 1 against the Falcons. He completed 72 percent of his passes and had a 4:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. That quickly flipped in their Week 2 loss against the Cardinals, as he completed just 52 percent and had one touchdown against four picks.
To be fair, he was facing a good Cards defense that was fired up after losing to the Pats. Nevertheless, it’s still indicative of the fact that Winston is not yet the steady, dependable QB the Bucs can consistently rely on.
The possible absence of running back Doug Martin could also be huge as it reduces the Bucs’ running threat and puts even more pressure on Winston. Martin did not return in their loss to the Cards after he suffered a hamstring injury.
But even without Martin, Winston still has some very good weapons in Mike Evans and Charles Sims. Together, they inspire more confidence in their ability to put points up than the Rams’ putrid offense. Winston actually had the biggest passing game of his young career against the Rams, as he threw for 363 yards with two touchdowns and a pick in a losing effort last year.
Writer’s Prediction
Winston and the Bucs (-5) bounce back to beat the Rams, 24-14.
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