Rams At Buccaneers Picks: Monday Night Football Week 11 Odds And Pro Predictions Against The Spread

One of the most exciting and impactful games of the 2020 NFL season will take place tonight on Monday Night Football when the Los Angeles Rams (6-3) visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. These NFC contenders are vying to win both their respective divisions—arguably the two most competitive the league has to offer—and earn a first-round bye in the upcoming playoffs. If the postseason were to start today, the Bucs and Rams would start on the road in opening set of games as the conference’s pair of Wild Card teams. Each is sitting just off the lead in their division—Tampa is a game back from the 8-2 New Orleans Saints in the NFC South and LA breathing down the 7-3 Seattle Seahawks’ neck in the NFC West—and neither can afford to fall further behind in what should be extremely tight races for the crown this year.

Oddsmakers are giving the edge to the Bucs tonight, putting them up on the board as a three-point favorite. They’ve since been adjusted to four-point chalk at most shops, although the public is quite split on this Monday Night Football betting line. With just a handful of hours left until the game’s 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff, 52% of bets are on Tampa Bay to cover, although bigger backers have been slightly leaning towards the Rams, evidenced by 52% of the money on the visitor’s side. The total is seeing an even larger discrepancy between tickets and handle, even with the public clearly liking the over this evening. Bookmakers have seen 56% of wagers and a whopping 77% of cash on that side of the total, which has not moved from its initial mark of 48.5 points despite this lopsided action, showing that sharps are making a contrarian play on the under.

The Rams are coming off a long rest since they last played over two weeks ago when they beat the rival Seattle Seahawks to end a two-game losing streak, getting a bye following that contest that afforded them extra preparation time for this Week 11 primetime showdown. The Buccaneers shook off their embarrassing Sunday Night Football defeat to the Saints a fortnight ago by pummeling the Carolina Panthers in Week 10, coming into this one with momentum from that victory and four wins over their last five outings. Will a well-rested LA squad be able to overcome the odds and take down the Bucs in front of a nationally televised audience, or will Tampa Bay keep rolling and secure a key “W” on Monday Night Football tonight? Pro handicapper Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com has a prediction for the Week 11 closer that you will not want to miss. Before seeing who the Vegas expert is picking to win, take a look at the full schedule, TV channel, live stream site, up-to-date odds, betting trends and more for this evening’s highly-anticipated Buccaneers-Rams clash.

Los Angeles Rams (6-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-3)

Monday Night Football Week 11 Viewing Guide

• Date: Monday, November 23
• Start Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Live Stream: WatchESPN
• Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Rams at Buccaneers Odds

Spread: Buccaneers -4

Total: 48.5

Moneyline: Buccaneers (-200), Rams (+170)

These odds indicate a 66.7% implied probability that Tampa Bay outright wins the game and a 37% chance that Los Angeles pulls off an upset. One would have to risk $2 to win $1 on the Bucs notching a victory, while Rams backers would net $1.70 for every $1 they put up should LA win on Monday Night Football.

Buccaneers-Rams Betting Trends

The Bucs are 5-5 against the spread this year, while the Rams have a slightly better cover rate during the 2020 NFL season at 5-4.

Tampa has gone 2-1 SU and 1-2 ATS as a home favorite this season and LA is 1-1 both SU and ATS as a road underdog in the same span.

These teams have met seven times over the past decade, with Los Angeles holding a 5-2 SU and 6-1 ATS advantage in those contests. The Bucs finally snapped a five-game SU and ATS losing streak against this foe when they met in September of last season, going on the road and winning 55-40 as a nine-point underdog.

Rams head coach Sean McVay has never lost a game in which his team has held the lead at halftime, going 31-0 since 2017. No other team is undefeated despite bringing a lead into the break during that same stretch.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has traditionally struggled to cover against stronger opponents, going 10-20-2 ATS over his past 32 matchups with foes above .500, a poor trend that dates back to his time at the helm of the Arizona Cardinals and continues now that he is in Tampa.

The total has gone OVER in each of the last three games involving these organizations. They have not even been close to the number either, going over by an average of nearly 30 points per game. That run includes eclipsing their most recent matchup’s total of 48.5 points by 46.5 points when these teams combined to score an eye-popping 95 points in the highest-scoring game of the 2019 campaign.

The Bucs are 0-3 ATS in their three primetime appearances this season—including winning by just two points as 13-point chalk over the lowly New York Giants on Monday Night Football at the start of the month—and are just 5-15-1 against the number in their last 21 night games. The Rams have performed much better under the lights, going 6-3 ATS across their last nine nationally televised appearances.

Monday Night Football Week 11 Media

Sean McVay heaped praise on the Bucs and acknowledged they will be a tough test for his Rams in Week 11:

“They’re one of the best offenses for a reason, you see how explosive they are. I think what says as much about them as anything is when you watch the response that they had from a disappointing outing against the Saints a couple of weeks ago. What they did against the Panthers was a very decisive, definitive victory. This is a great team. They’re a great defense. They’re very competitive on special teams and so it’s going to be a great challenge to try to go get our seventh win.”

ESPN Stats & Info found that Bucs quarterback Tom Brady has the third-most Monday Night Football wins for a quarterback in league history, trailing only a pair of Hall of Famers:

PFF tweeted that Rams star Aaron Donald is their highest-graded defensive lineman this year:

Robert Mays reminded everyone that LA signal-caller Jared Goff threw a ridiculous 68 passes in last year’s barnburner against the Bucs:

Bruce Arians spoke about how well Tampa’s upcoming opponent has been playing in all facets of the game during the 2020 NFL season (via TheRams.com):

“Jared (Goff) is playing very, very well, protecting the football. They’re running the ball well. Their play action game is outstanding. Defensively, I mean, that might be the best second half defense in the league right now. Kicking game, (punter Johnny) Hekker is one of the best in the game right now.”

Bucs wideout Antonio Brown, who signed with Tampa in late-October, spoke about his relationship with fellow Tampa receiver Mike Evans:

The NFL tweeted some of the most memorable plays from the history of the Rams-Bucs rivalry:

Sports Illustrated noted that this Monday Night Football game will feature the NFL’s first ever all-Black officiating crew:

Monday Night Football Week 11 Pro Predictions

Pick: Rams +4

Prediction: Buccaneers 31 – Rams 28