The Baltimore Ravens (4-3) will take to the road on Friday to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) in a Week 8 matchup at the Raymond James Stadium. Both teams come into this game right in the thick of the playoff race, as joint leaders of their respective divisional standings. The 4-3 Baltimore Ravens are riding high in the AFC North and have posted one more win than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are going similarly strong in the NFC South despite a 3-4 record. A win is a must for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get back on track after slipping below .500 last week. However, that will probably be a lot easier said than done, as the Baltimore Ravens chase a fifth straight win in this series.

Form Tampa Bay Buccaneers

For the second week in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers crashed to an unexpected defeat. They hit the road for an NFC South matchup against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 as the 13.0 point favorites, but surprisingly lost 21-3 instead. They’re now on a two-match losing skid in the league and are 3-7 in their past 10 games overall.

Considering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have failed to score over 20 points in seven of their previous 10 outings, questions have to be asked of the offense. From 29.9 points on average last year, the offensive unit has only put 17.7 points on board all season. However, the defense has salvaged a little pride, surrendering just 17.7 points per game to rank fifth in the league in terms of points allowed.

Form Baltimore Ravens

While the Baltimore Ravens couldn’t quite match expectations as the -6.5 point favorites against the Cleveland Browns in Week 7, they still got back to winning ways by taking a 23-20 home win. Winning the AFC North divisional contest has left them 7-3 in their past 10 games overall. They are also 3-2 in their last five road trips.

In terms of offense, the Baltimore Ravens are one of the best in the game this season. The visitors have the 5th best scoring record in the NFL at 25.9 points per game and also rank 4th in rushing yards, averaging 163.6 yards so far. Defensively, they rank 21st in the league, allowing 23.0 points per game.

H2H

The Baltimore Ravens made it four straight wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by winning the last matchup 20-12 in December 2018. The average winning margin for the visitors was 18.0 points. They lead the series 4-2 and are 2-1 in their previous three visits to the Raymond James Stadium.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers pulled off 14.3 points on average in these past six meetings and covered the spread four times, whereas Baltimore Ravens averaged 20.3 points per match. The total went under five times.

Standings

Seven games into the regular season and both teams are in the mix for a playoff spot. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are tied in first place with the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. The hosts are below .500 and 1-2 at home for this year. The Baltimore Ravens are a little better off at 4-3, making them the joint leaders of the AFC North alongside the Cincinnati Bengals.

Betting

Moneyline

Take the Baltimore Ravens (+100) on the moneyline for this Week 8 matchup at the Raymond James Stadium. 

The Baltimore Ravens are on a four-match winning streak against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2-1 on the road this season and 13-3 in their last 16 games against NFC Conference teams.

As for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have limped to a 1-2 record at home for this season. They are also 1-7 against AFC North teams and 1-4 in their last 5 games overall.

Spread

The last five games between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens have produced an average winning margin of 19.6 points.

Overall, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have failed to cover the spread in any of their past five matches, are 1-4 ATS in their last five at home, and the offense is struggling to put up a decent amount of points in games.

With this in mind, we’re taking the Baltimore Ravens (+110) to cover the spread as 1.5-point underdogs. The visitors are 2-1 ATS on the road this season and have had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ number in recent meetings to boot.

Total

We think taking the Under (-110) is the right way to go

The total has gone under in five of the past six matchups between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens. Overall, the two teams averaged 34.6 points.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have seen the total go under in six of their seven games this season. In contrast, the total has gone under five times for the Baltimore Ravens in as many matches. They have also gone under in four of their last six games against an NFC South opponent.