Patriots at Buccaneers: Preview, prediction, odds and pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football in Week 5. Here is a game preview, the betting odds and a prediction.

Thursday Night Football in Week 5 should be a terrific game. We’ve got two teams with two wins on the year in desperate need of a third win this week. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) will host the New England Patriots (2-2) for an 8:25 p.m. ET kickoff at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on October 5.

CBS and the NFL Network will have the national broadcasts. In the booth to call the game for CBS will be Jim Nantz and Tony Romo. The available live streams for this game can be found on NFL.com, Amazon and on FuboTV.

New England enters play at 2-2. The Patriots lost their Thursday night home opener in Week 1 to the Kansas City Chiefs. New England would then rattle off two wins on the road against the New Orleans Saints and at home versus the Houston Texans. The Patriots would then stumble at home to the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.

Tampa Bay had its first game of the season rescheduled for Week 11 due to Hurricane Irma. The Buccaneers are 2-0 at home with wins over the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants. Sandwiched between those two home wins was a bad loss on the road to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Tampa Bay +5
Moneylines: New England -240, Tampa Bay +200
Over/Under: 55

According to SportsBook Review, the Buccaneers will be getting five points at home from the visiting Patriots. The associated moneylines for this game are New England -240 and Tampa Bay +200. This game’s over/under comes in at a combined 55 points.

Though it is a quick turnaround for both teams, let’s assume that we’ll be getting a barn burner in Tampa Bay on Thursday night. New England’s defense is terrible and are we sure the Buccaneers defense will be able to do much of anything to stop Tom Brady and the Patriots offense? Let’s go with the over in this one.

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This will be a tight game from start to finish. No team will lead by more than a touchdown at any point in the game. What this game will ultimately come down to is ball control. Since Tampa Bay has the more inaccurate quarterback in Jameis Winston and a less reliable running game, New England finds a way to win this game by a field goal inside of two minutes left. The Patriots win, but the Buccaneers cover five-point spread.

Prediction: New England 31, Tampa Bay 28