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| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Detroit Lions |
After starting the season by losing their first eight games, several in tight fashion, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won their last two outings, and covered their last three.
This week Tampa renews acquaintances with a former divisional rival as it heads up to Detroit to take on the NFC North-leading Lions Sunday afternoon at Ford Field (1 pm ET, Fox).
Detroit is coming off a tough loss at Pittsburgh, and is 1-3 ATS over its last four games. But at 6-4 SU it still leads the North by the head-to-head tie-breaker over Chicago.
If the playoffs started today the Lions would be the three seed in the NFC, hosting the 49ers in a wild-card game. The Bucs are 1-8 ATS vs Detroit since 2000 but 6-0 ATS as double-digit road underdog since 2009. Watch the line moves during the week to see if the spread remains at double digits for this trend to be live.
In the early wagering on this game several books (including Sportsbook) opened Detroit at -10 points over the Bucs, but then dropped that spread to -8.5.
They battle the Buccaneers, currently with a 2-8 mark (4-6 ATS). The over under records, important for totals bettors, are 6-4 for the Lions and 6-4 for the Buccaneers.
View Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Detroit Lions Odds and Stats.
The visitors opened as 10-point underdogs in this one at most sportsbooks tracked here at OddsShark (including Sportsbook), while the total was hovering around 48 at most shops.
It's a betting matchup between the No. 12-rated Lions and the No. 25-ranked Buccaneers, according to the NFL Power Rankings here at Odds Shark. Predictive-scoring models run on this game indicate a potential 23-17 result in favor of the Lions.
The Buccaneers were a 41-28 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against the Falcons. They covered the 2.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score (69) made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors. Matthew Stafford's 362-yard performance through the air wasn't enough last time out, as Pittsburgh earned a 37-27 win over Detroit on Sunday at Heinz Field.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Detroit's No. 6-ranked offense (26.5 PPG) against a Buccaneers defense that ranks No. 16 at 23.7 PPG. The Lions passing attack has averaged 310.6 yards per game, more than the Buccaneers give up through the air (240.3 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Buccaneers own the league's No. 19-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 115.5 yards per game when on the road. Detroit, on the other hand, rates No. 12 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Buccaneers at Lions trends to consider:
Tampa Bay is 5-10-1 ATS in its last 16 games
Tampa Bay is 3-13 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
Detroit is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
Detroit is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games
Detroit is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games at home
Next up:
Tampa Bay at Carolina, Sunday, December 1st
Detroit home to Green Bay, Thursday, November 28th
