The Los Angeles Rams will head on the road to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida on Sunday afternoon to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Divisional Round.
The Rams finished the regular season with a 12-5 overall record before dismantling the NFC West-rival Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round. On the other hand, Tampa Bay finished as the No. 2 seed in the NFC after finishing the regular season with a 13-4 overall record.
Can the Rams upset Tom Brady and the Bucs on the road in the NFC Divisional Round on Sunday?
NFL Odds Divisional Playoffs — Buccaneers vs Rams
When looking for point spreads for the Bucs Rams game, football fans should shop for lines at the best NFL betting sites.
All of the game lines that are featured below are taken from BetOnline, one of the best online sportsbooks in the US. At BetOnline, new members can cash in on a sportsbook bonus worth up to $1,000 on their first deposit. BetOnline is also a great place for Super Bowl betting.
Point Spread:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -2.5 +(100)
Los Angeles Rams +2.5 (-120)
Moneyline:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -148
Los Angeles Rams +128
Total:
48.5
In terms of Super Bowl betting odds, the Titans find themselves at +850 while the Bengals have the highest odds to win Super Bowl 56 at +1800.
NFL Divisional Playoffs — Bucs vs. Rams Preview
The Bucs and Rams find themselves two wins away from earning a trip to Super Bowl 2022 at Sofi Stadium on February 13.
Below, we’ll break down the NFC Divisional Round matchup
Will Fournette’s Return Be Enough To Spark Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay pushed its current winning streak to four games with a 31-15 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round. Tom Brady completed 29-of-37 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions while Mike Evans had 117 receiving yards and a score in the win.
There’s a chance that this could be Brady’s final NFL game. Brady, 44, hinted that he plans to take time after the season ends to assess how feels before deciding on whether or not he will return to the Bucs in 2022. According to ESPN, Brady could take a month or longer before coming to a decision.
On defense, Tampa Bay gave up 20.8 points per game during the regular season, second in the NFL. The Bucs also finished the regular season ranked 13th in the NFL in total defense at 331.5 yards per game and third in the NFL against the run, allowing just 92.5 rushing yards per contest.
Matthew Stafford Hoping For a Repeat Performance vs. Bucs
Los Angeles put together a dominant 34-11 victory at home versus the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Wild Card Round last weekend. Quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 13-of-17 passes for 202 yards with two touchdowns for the Rams, who held the Cardinals scoreless midway through the third quarter.
Per ESPN’s Stats & Information Group, Stafford led the NFL in Total Quarterback Rating (92.3) and NFL passer rating (129.5). While he threw 41 regular season touchdowns, Stafford closed the year in a bit of a slump, throwing eight interceptions over the final four games before posting a bounce-back performance last week.
According to Ty Schalter of FiveThirtyEight, the Rams are a matchup nightmare for the Bucs. During their Week 3 matchup, Los Angeles pressured Brady on 26.7 percent of his drop backs, more than any other team has managed against the future Hall of Famer this season. PFF also grades the Rams out as the stronger team, which could leave some value on the road team in this spot.
On defense, the Rams have given up 21.9 points per game, 15th in the NFL. Los Angeles has also given up 344.9 yards of total offense per game, 17th in the NFL, including just 103.2 yards per game on the ground, good for sixth in the league.
NFC Divisional Round – Rams vs Buccaneers Betting Trends
Below, you’ll find some betting trends for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Los Angeles Rams NFC Divisional Round matchup.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are:
🔥 7-1 ATS in their last 8 home games
🔥 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall
🧊 2-5 ATS in their last 7 playoff games as a favorite.
The Los Angeles Rams are:
🔥 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. NFC.
🧊 16-35-1 ATS in their last 52 games after allowing less than 150 yards passing in their previous game.
🧊 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win of more than 14 points.
Buccaneers vs Rams Predictions
At plus-money, the Rams offer bettors a little more value on the moneyline in this spot. With that being said, we’re still going to side with Brady and company here.
Sean McVay and company were fortunate enough to steal the regular season meeting against the Bucs but DeSean Jackson played a major role in that game, catching three balls for 120 yards and a score. No longer on the team, Jackson’s deep speed could end up being the difference in this game. After giving up 34 points to the Rams during the regular season, look for the Bucs’ defense to zero in on Cooper Kupp and give Matthew Stafford fits in this one.
Take Tampa Bay to beat the Rams at home and advance to the NFC Championship Game next week.
Bucs Rams Picks Against The Spread
This line has been moving towards the Rams heading into game time, but we’re going to go the other way here.
While Matthew Stafford is fresh off of his first career postseason win, Brady has played in 16 career divisional round games. On the other side of the ball, Tampa Bay’s defense put up a strong performance against the Philadelphia Eagles during the Wild Card round. With Fournette active, look for Brady to make the most of the short-to-intermediate passing game to help keep the Rams’ pass rushers off balance.
Don’t bet against Brady. Take the Bucs to cover the spread at home in this NFC Divisional Round battle against the Los Angeles Rams.
Rams vs Bucs Props Bet
With Jalen Ramsey likely to shadow wide receiver Mike Evans, Brady will likely have to look elsewhere in this game.
Despite playing in just 12 games, tight end Rob Gronkowski finished with six touchdowns and notched another in the Wild Card game versus Philadelphia. In the Week 3 matchup versus Los Angeles, Gronk finished with four catches for 55 yards on eight targets but with Chris Godwin no longer available, look for Brady’s favorite target to get even more balls thrown his way on Sunday.
Take Rob Gronkowski to score the first touchdown in this NFC Divisional Round battle on Sunday afternoon.
Buccaneers vs Rams Betting Picks
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