In the first game on Sunday’s Divisional round slate, the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Rams will take on the No. 2 seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
These two teams played each other in Week 3 of the regular season, where the Rams won 34-24 at SoFi Stadium. Last week, the Buccaneers defeated the Eagles 31-15 in Super Wild Card Weekend, while the Rams took down their divisional foes, the Cardinals 34-11.
So where are sports bettors going as we get closer to game time? Let’s take a look at betting splits for the Rams-Bucs Divisional matchup as of game day. All odds and info were provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Rams vs. Buccaneers: Point Spread
The Bucs are 2.5-point favorites. 58% of handle and 53% of bets are on Rams to cover.
Is the public right?
Earlier in the week, the Bucs were three-point favorites, with 55% of the handle on the Rams to cover and 52% of the bets on Tampa Bay. However, we’ve seen that number come down half a point due to the Bucs’ starting offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Jensen both listed as questionable.
Last Sunday, we saw the Eagles’ defensive line take advantage of Tampa Bay’s weakened offensive line, racking up four sacks in the 16-point defeat. The Rams could have the same success with Aaron Donald in the middle and Von Miller and Leonard Floyd on the edge.
When you combine that, along with the Rams’ offense, which is healthier minus Andrew Whitworth, which is a notable loss. Los Angeles should be able to keep this game close late into the fourth quarter.
Over/Under
Total points is installed at 48.0. 65% of handle and 72% of bets are on the over.
Is the public right?
The total dropped by half a point, but the public is still on the right side. We should see points scored by both offenses in this game. When the Rams and Bucs first played earlier this season in Week 3, the total points scored were 58. Last week, Brady and Co. put up 31 points, despite not having Leonard Fournette, Chris Godwin or Antonio Brown.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles put up 34 points last week and seven of those came on a defensive score. The Rams are averaging 25.6 points in their last five games and 26.6 points per game in their last three road games. Odell Beckham Jr., Cooper Kupp, and Van Jefferson should not have any issues with the Bucs’ secondary in this one.
Moneyline
The Bucs are -145 favorites and the Rams are +125 underdogs. 59% of the handle and 57% of total bets are on Rams to win.
Is the public right?
The Bucs were -150 favorites on the moneyline earlier in the week, but the public has been on the same page with the Rams to win. Los Angeles has the playmakers on the defense to make things tough for Brady and the Bucs’ offense. At the same time, we should expect the Rams’ offensive line to get challenged by the Buccaneers’ front seven, which played well in last week’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
If Saturday’s Divisional round games were any indication of what we may see on Sunday, the Rams could be the next team to upset a higher seed and punch their ticket into the NFC title game.
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