Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Betting Preview/Prop Pick

The Sunday slate of NFL Playoff games should be terrific, and two Super Bowl favorites are set to kick things off. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Los Angeles Rams, with the winner punching their ticket to the NFC Championship Game. 

Los Angeles won the NFC West Division this season after finishing the year with a 12-5 record. The Rams picked up a 34-11 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round and come into Tampa Bay with some momentum. 

Tampa Bay went 13-4 during the regular season to win the NFC South Division, and they are also the defending Super Bowl champions. The Buccaneers picked up a 31-15 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card Round, and that game wasn’t actually that close. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are slim 2.5-point betting favorites over the Los Angeles Rams. 

Rams Have to Get Stops

Los Angeles gave up just 11 points to the Cardinals in the Wild Card Round, but holding the Bucs to under 20 might win this game. The Rams spent a ton of money on improving their defense, and that unit is going to have to show up in this one. 

Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for over 4,800 yards this season, but he also tossed 17 interceptions. The Rams are going to need Stafford to make some big plays, but taking care of the ball is more important. 

Sony Michel leads the Rams with 845 rushing yards on the year, but Cam Akers is now back in the fold. Running the football will give that defense a chance to rest and should allow them to keep this game close.

Buccaneers Want to Score

Tampa Bay wants to score points, and they generally want to do it by throwing the football. Quarterback Tom Brady had another monster season under center after throwing for over 5,300 yards and 43 touchdowns.

Leonard Fournette has also provided a huge boost for the Bucs on offense as he ran for over 800 yards this season. Tampa Bay will have to keep the Rams defense honest, but this team will look to score points with a big play.

The defense in Tampa Bay helped win the Super Bowl a season ago, and it’s time for that unit to step up and deliver again. Getting pressure on Matthew Stafford will be the best way to accomplish this on Sunday.

Brady, Bucs Blow Out the Rams

The strength of the Los Angeles Rams team is definitely on the defensive side of the football, but they are also facing Tom Brady. Brady has made a career out of picking apart some great defensive units, and this game should go in that same direction.

Tampa Bay is going to be getting a huge boost from the home crowd in this game, and they will have little trouble racking up the points. Los Angeles can give them a game in the first half, but the second half will belong to Tampa Bay. 

Bet the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -2.5 as the home team cruises to a blowout win by beating up on the Los Angeles Rams.

Prop Pick

LA Rams (+100) UNDER 22.5 Points

The Buccaneers’ defense allowed an average of 20.6 points per game this season, which ranked No. 5 in the league. That average decreased to 16.9 points per game at home. Tampa Bay has gone UNDER in 5 of its last 7 playoff games.

With Dunkel predicting a Tampa Bay win by the score of 29-17, take the Rams (+100) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 22.5 points against the Bucs.

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