25* NFL NON-CONFERENCE TOTAL OF THE MONTH
- Handicapper
- Hollywood Sports
- League
- NFL
- Competition
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New England Patriots
- Time
- 10/03/2021 08:20 PM
- Bet Type
- Over / Under
- Pick
-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New England Patriots Under 50 (-110)
(DraftKings)
- Outcome
- Win
- Analysis
- At 8:20 PM ET on Sunday, we will be playing Under the Total in the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (277) and the New England Patriots (278). THE SITUATION: Tampa Bay (2-1) lost their first game since winning the Super Bowl last season in a 34-24 upset loss in Los Angeles against the Rams as a 1-point road favorite last Sunday. New England (1-2) looks to rebound from their 28-13 upset loss at home to New Orleans as a 3-point favorite last week.
REASONS TO TAKE UNDER THE TOTAL: Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T. but I do expect him to be emotional in his first return to Gilette Stadium since leaving the Patriots organization. Remember, he has a history of slow starts in the Super Bowl. We will also witness the fascinating matchup of him going up against a Bill Belichick defense. Brady is on record indicating that the Miami Dolphins’ defenses tend to give him the most trouble despite deploying a basic scheme against him. I am not smarter than Belichick but I would guess he will focus on taking away either wide receiver Chris Godwin or Mike Evans. Rob Gronkowski did not even make the trip to Foxboro given his broken ribs — so Brady’s safety valve is gone. Belichick might also dare the Buccaneers to run the football and take the ball out of Brady’s hands. Tampa Bay is not running the ball well this season — they are averaging just 56 rushing Yards-Per-Game on 3.5 Yards-Per-Carry. The Buccaneers have not rushed for more than 82 yards in a game this season — and head coach Bruce Arians’ teams have played 8 of their last 13 games Under the Total after a three-game stretch where they did not rush for at least 100 yards even once. The Patriots are playing great defense this season — they are allowing only 17.0 PPG and 282.3 total Yards-Per-Game. Tampa Bay has played 6 of their last 8 games Under the Total after a point spread loss. New England has played 6 of their last 8 games Under the Total after an upset loss — and they have played 7 of their last 8 games Under the Total after a loss by at least two touchdowns. Furthermore, the Patriots have played 10 of their last 13 games Under the Total after failing to score more than 14 points in their last game. While almost all the attention this week has been on Brady v. Belichick, an underplayed narrative is how rookie Mac Jones will handle the pressure of this moment as the literal heir apparent to Brady. I suspect he will be nervous. As it is, New England is scoring only 18.0 PPG and averaging 317.7 total YPG. They are 27th in the NFL by averaging just 4.8 Yards-Per-Play. To compound matters, Jones will be without running back James White after a season-ending injury — and he creates a void since he is a reliable safety valve catching the ball out of the backfield. The Patriots have played 7 of their last 8 games at home Under the Total. They have played 5 straight Unders as an underdog — and they have played 5 straight Unders against teams with a winning record. And in their last 9 games against teams from the NFC, New England has played 7 of these games Under the Total.
FINAL TAKE: Tampa Bay’s defense has underachieved this season — they are allowing 29.3 PPG this season. The talent on that side of the ball is still elite — and they are holding opposing rushers to just 3.1 Yards-Per-Carry after leading the NFL in run defense last season. They are going to force Jones to beat them with his arm. The Patriots have played 18 of their last 27 games Under the Total against teams who allow at least 27 PPG. 25* NFL Non-Conference Total of the Month with Under the Total in the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (277) and the New England Patriots (278). Best of luck for us — Frank.
