Ravens to Win
Lamar Jackson Anytime Touchdown Scorer
Lamar Jackson Over 208.5 Passing Yards
Under 45.5 Points
A Bet Builder using these selections pays at approximately 25/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Friday 1.16am: Baltimore Ravens @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
TV: Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports NFL
Baltimore to Win
In a way, this game exhibits the crossroads of the modern NFL perfectly. Tom Brady is coming off one of the worst outings of his career – his Bucs putting up just three points against a team in crisis, who are openly shopping all of their best talent so they can salvage something long-term.
And now they come up against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Yes, the Ravens have underwhelmed slightly this year, but there’s always a belief in both the franchise and Jackson himself that if the first plan isn’t going well, that they’ll have something to fall back upon – Lamar’s legs. This could be one for the ages. Here’s a Bet Builder!
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I’m usually a spread bettor, but in this instance, I’m more than happy to side with the team I think should be clear favourites at odds-against. These teams both have paths to victory.
Tampa Bay need their offensive line to overachieve in this because they’ve been unable to win Brady much time this year, and they need to guarantee the health of a banged-up Mike Evans to win contested balls, as Baltimore’s secondary should have more than enough to cope with the route-running inside.
Baltimore? Well, their path to victory is a bit more muddled – and that’s only because for all the best planning, their best performances come off-script.
The Ravens know their identity and while Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman truly can’t facilitate a heavy passing game because of his limitations, Lamar can simply glide into space and keep opposing defences on the field for longer. It’s all pointing towards a Ravens Win.
Lamar Jackson Anytime Touchdown Scorer
You see, the best element of this Tampa Bay defence is that they’ve got massive leverage up front on defence. Their front four can simply out-power the offensive linemen lined up across from them. And running the ball is certainly desirable in the red zone due to the lack of space for passes to fall into.
But with Baltimore’s identity firmly affixed, they can’t just run the ball down there – which usually means one of two things: Lamar is keeping it or they’re disguising it to find their third-string tight end wide open for the score. Lamar Anytime Touchdown is the better bet.
Lamar Jackson Over 208.5 Passing Yards
And speaking of disguising run plays to look like pass plays, this is exactly what Carolina did last week to maximise the efficiency of PJ Walker. Tampa Bay were gashed for 173 yards on the ground, and the threat of that made Walker’s throws rather easy.
Baltimore are struggling because it’s obvious now that it’s no longer likely that Lamar will pass the ball in even pass-obvious situations. They know this needs to change, as his connection with Mark Andrews at least kept defences honest in the past.
This might be one he wins through their air between the 20-yard lines. We’ll take Lamar Jackson Over 208.5 Passing Yards.
Under 45.5 Points
Here are Tampa Bay’s totals so far this season: Nineteen points against Dallas; twenty points against New Orleans; twelve points against Green Bay; thirty-one points in a shootout versus Kansas City; twenty-one points against Atlanta; eighteen points against Pittsburgh and three points against Carolina.
Knowing that Baltimore themselves understand they’ll win with time rather than points, explain to me again why you think the over is a good shout here? It’s got to be Under 45.5 Points.
Ravens @ Bucs Betting
Ravens to Win
Lamar Jackson Anytime Touchdown Scorer
Lamar Jackson Over 208.5 Passing Yards
Under 45.5 Points
A Bet Builder using these selections pays at approximately 25/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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