The 7-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the 6-3 Los Angeles Rams in one of the better Monday Night Football matchups of the season tonight on ESPN. Seriously, this game will have MAJOR playoff seeding implications, so you better get your popcorn and butter ready for a showdown in West Florida. Last year, these teams met up in LA, where the Bucs pulled off a massive road upset as a 10-point underdog. That game also finished with a score of 55-40, with the two teams combining for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense. Crazy, and I doubt we see anything like that tonight with both the Bucs and Rams boasting top defenses. But you know what makes these games even better? Betting on them. Even better than that? Signing up on DraftKings and getting literally free money to use on your bets.

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Rams vs. Bucs

Los Angeles Rams (+4.5)

Offense

What do we know about the LA Rams? Of course, they are 6-3, but five out of their six wins are against the Bears and the horrific NFC East. This obviously does not bode well for them when you look at them straight-up and with metrics. However, beating the Seattle Seahawks convincingly last week turned some heads. While their schedule may have inflated some of their stats and record, there are reasons to like them. The Rams have the sixth-ranked offense in football, according to Football Outsiders, up from 15th last season. Credit Head Coach Sean McVay for getting his offense back on track. Darrell Henderson, Cam Akers, and Malcolm Brown have combined to give the Rams the number eight rushing attack in the NFL. The offensive line is also massively improved, ranking in the top two in Adjusted Line Yards and Power Success Rate. Quarterback Jared Goff relies heavily on the play-action pass, where he has thrown for six touchdowns and no interceptions, compared to seven touchdowns and six interceptions otherwise.

Defense

The stats again maybe a little inflated due to the schedule, but this defense has been elite, even more so than Joe Flacco. They are the second-best team defending explosive passes, so they don’t get beat deep. It definitely helps when you have a future Hall-of-Fame player on the defensive line in Aaron Donald, who has a 92.5 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus, which leads all defensive lineman. Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Darious Williams actually rank No. 1 and 2 in the NFL in coverage snaps per reception, so they have a great back-end duo. Williams also boasts a league-leading 41.4 quarterback rating when targeted with only one touchdown allowed and four interceptions.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5)

Offense

Tom Brady is growing more comfortable in this new system and has as many weapons as any quarterback in the league. The Wide Receivers are finally healthy, and they added Antonio Brown. Running Back Ronald Jones has been outstanding, ranking second in average yards after contact. The Bucs offense has struggled mightily, though, when they go up against top-tier defenses this season. They’re 0-3 vs. top 10 defenses, averaging 15 points per game, while they’re 7-0 vs. defenses ranked outside of the top 10, averaging 35.8 points per game. Those defenses had an average rating of 22nd. The Rams are a top-10 defense.

Defense

Brady may get all the talk and respect, but the defense deserves a good chunk of the publicity. They are number one in the league in DVOA and number one against the run for the second straight season. Todd Bowles deserves a ton of credit here and is one of the league’s best defensive coordinators. The Bucs defensive line ranks No. 3 in Adjusted Line Yards, No. 1 in running back yards, No. 2 in open field yards, No. 1 in second-level yards. AKA, they are good. The outside corner group is one of the best in the NFL with Sean Davis and Jamel Dean. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. has also played extremely well for a rookie on the back end.

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DraftKings Promotions

DraftKings offers several promo bets that boost the odds in your favor each week. This week, they are offering several juicy deals to get more money in your pocket:

Mike Evans to score the first Touchdown boosted from +850 to +920
Robert Woods & Chris Godwin to combine for over 117.5 receiving yards boosted from -110 to +105
Tom Brady and Jared Goff each to throw 2+ Touchdown Passes boosted from +130 to +160

Picking Robert Woods & Chris Godwin to combine for over 117.5 receiving yards is intriguing because the opposing team’s top corner will cover neither. Jalen Ramsay will be covering Mike Evans most of the night, while Sean Davis will be presumably on Van Jefferson or Josh Reynolds. This leaves Woods and Godwin with an opportunity to take advantage.

Key Betting Info

The Rams are 6-4 in their last 10 games against the Buccaneers but lost 55-40 in their last meeting in 2019.
The Rams have alternated wins and losses in their last five games, most recently beating the Seahawks in Week 10.
The Buccaneers rank first against the run this season (76.6 yards per game), while the Rams’ rushing offense is eighth in the NFL (134.2 YPG).
The Rams are 2-3 ATS on the road in 2020; the Buccaneers are 2-2 ATS at home.
The Buccaneers have been the favorites in all but two games this season. The Rams haven’t been underdogs since Week 3 vs. Buffalo.