New England at Tampa Bay

The big surprise for this game is that Tampa Bay is the team with the better record at 2-1, while a New England loss last week has left them at 2-2. Many wondered how the New England offense would be with Tom Brady now 40-years-old, and with Julian Edelman lost for the year. It has actually performed better as the Patriots have averaged 32.3 points per game. But the issue thus far has been the defense, which has allowed an equal amount scoring at 32 ppg. It appears that the Pats have to win with their offense, which they are perfectly capable of doing. The Buccaneers' offense continues to grow with each passing game under the guidance of QB Jameis Winston. History shows that he has his best career passer rating of 100.8 when facing a team allowing 29-35 ppg, where he has six TDs to just one INT. The Pats are hard to prepare for on six days rest, but on three days even tougher, as since 2003 New England has averaged 30.8 ppg on Thursday night games - a full three points more than their Sunday production. The last eight Pats games have exceeded the total and I don't think they can set this high enough right now. Play this one to finish OVER the total.