NFL lines, Week 3 2018: 5 best bets

Based on the first two games of the season, it looks like Jameis Winston’s suspension was one of the best things that could happen to the Bucs. Their preseason win total was six games and at 2-0 with Ryan Fitzpatrick, they’re already a third of the way to hitting it.

Fitzpatrick has looked like the bearded second coming of Peyton Manning so far (and also like Connor McGregor). Against the Saints and the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, Fitzmagic has completed 78.6 percent of his passes for 810 yards, eight touchdowns and only one interception. He leads the NFL is passing yards and QBR through the first two weeks of the season.

Coming in just behind Fitzpatrick, Ben Roethlisberger’s 787 yards are second in the NFL after two games. Roethlisberger’s 452 passing yards in a losing effort to Kansas City last week set the mark for most passing yards in a single game so far this season. His top three targets, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Antonio Brown and Jesse James are all top 25 in the NFL in receiving yards.

When the Steelers head south to take on the Bucs on Monday night, they’ll be up against the 31st ranked passing defense (376 yards/game). The Steelers’ pass defense is substantially better than Tampa’s on paper (236 yards/game) but that’s largely because they had the benefit of playing Tyrod Taylor and the Browns Week 1. Last week against Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs, the Steelers’ secondary gave up 326 yards and six touchdowns. Starting cornerback Joe Haden is still listed as questionable and has yet to practice this week. Getting him back will help but the Steelers, like the Bucs, won’t be relying on their defense this season. Both teams will have to put up points in bunches to win games in 2018.

So far, the Bucs are scoring 40 points a game and giving up just over 30. The Steelers have averaged 29 a game and given up an average of 31.5. Take the over at 53.5 and enjoy rooting for offense on Monday night.