Despite being on the road in Tampa Bay, with both teams being 1-1 the betting community are siding with the Atlanta Falcons to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Typically we look for quarterbacks to set the tempo of a match-up, but really this is a game that will be determined by the supporting casts.
Both Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman got off to slow starts, but have now started to hit their stride. Both QBs posted ratings over 90 in their week two games after week one performances under 80. Now, Ryan (85.1) and Freeman (84.4) are looking to continue their winning ways in a tough week three match-up.
Vegas has the Falcons as the 1 point favorites on the road, no doubt convinced by an impressive performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in their week two game. It's surprising pundits aren't giving the Bucs a little more respect after their victory over Minnesota, because they're ostensibly giving the Falcons a 4 point edge on Sunday.
Yet again we're looking at a fairly high scoring game with an over/under of 45.5 points. There seems little doubt these teams can eclipse this number with their potent offenses. Both team's running backs and wide receivers have a chance to have big 100+ yard games, so I would definitely look at taking the over this week.
Despite being on the road it's hard to put my money behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Falcons played two legitimate playoff teams (Chicago and Philadelphia) and went 1-1, while Tampa played a possible playoff team (Detroit) and a team who look like they will struggle (Minnesota). Last week the Falcons were looking to prove they were still a top team in the NFC, now they're looking to secure the lead of the NFC South (provided New Orleans lose to Houston). In this game I think the point doesn't matter- I'm picking Atlanta to win by a touchdown.
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