Ravens @ Buccaneers NFL best bets & odds – Thursday, October 27

The 2022 NFL season is entering Week 8, which opens up with a fascinating matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) and the Baltimore Ravens (4-3). While these teams aren’t living up to their preseason billing, this game still is very intriguing and this is a more interesting Thursday night clash than we have had in recent weeks. Here are our best bets for the game at Raymond James Stadium.

Ravens @ Buccaneers moneyline pick: Tampa Bay

We have been here before with Tom Brady. The Bucs have lost two straight games to bad teams and murmurs of Brady’s decline have been dominating the NFL coverage. We don’t buy it. Tom Brady is still Tom Brady, and although he is old, we cannot in good conscious rule him out. He has a long history of turning around offenses. While the Bucs offense is clearly worse than in previous seasons, it is not as bad as everyone thinks, and this could be a bounce-back game for them.

Also, Baltimore have a terrible pass defense. The Ravens have given up the fourth-most passing yards in the NFL this season and the Bucs should take advantage of that. Brady is still throwing to Chris Godwin and Mike Evans — two elite receivers. While the Ravens should be able to move the ball, they won’t be able to stop the Bucs. Because of that, the value is on the Bucs in this get-right game.

Ravens @ Buccaneers total points pick: Over 45.5

While the under is usually the smart play on Thursday night games, we just don’t trust either of these defenses. We have already covered the Ravens’ defensive woes. On the other side of the ball, the Bucs should struggle to stop Lamar Jackson. He is one of the hardest players to plan for in the entire NFL, and on a short week they will have even less time for preparation than normal. The Bucs typically have a league-average defense, but this week the Ravens should get the better of them. While it may be wishful thinking, we think both of these offenses are in for a big day and the over will hit for the second Thursday night game in a row.

Chris Godwin receiving yards: Over 69.5

Chris Godwin is an elite receiving option for the Bucs who has battled injuries throughout this year. However, he has played four full games in a row and has finally found his footing. While he has only cleared this yardage total once this year, Godwin has seen 10 or more targets in three of the past four weeks. Considering his talent, he is bound to break out as long as he keeps seeing that amount of targets, and we feel it will happen this week against a beatable Ravens pass defense. Take Godwin’s over and watch him finally have his first big game of the season.

Ravens touchdown scorer pick: Gus Edwards

Gus Edwards returned from injury last week and immediately received 16 carries. He ended up scoring twice for the Ravens and was clearly their starting running back. Gus is a bruising, physical back who is a great rusher. While the Bucs have an alright rush defense, there is no reason for Edwards’ touchdown odds to be this high. He is going to get opportunities, and considering his frame, we like his chances to cross the goal line.

Buccaneers touchdown scorer pick: Mike Evans

Mike Evans is the other elite receiver for the Bucs and he is Tom Brady’s favorite target in the redzone. He has a great chance to score in any game, and while he only has three touchdowns this season, Evans had at least 13 touchdowns in each of his previous seasons with Brady. As we’ve previously mentioned, the Ravens cannot defend the pass and they don’t have anyone big enough to competently cover Evans. The +130 with Bovada is a great number for Brady’s go-to endzone option, and it’s our favorite prop for this game.

More sports betting picks