Los Angeles Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers predictions & free NFL betting tips

Free American football tips, best bets and analysis for LA Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Where to watch

Sky Sports NFL, 8pm Sunday

Best bet

LA Rams +3
3pts 5-6 Coral, Ladbrokes

Match preview

The LA Rams head to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers for a place in the NFC Championship game.

While the Bucs are last season's Super Bowl champions, there is no guarantee that their reign will continue past Sunday evening with the Rams expected to give them an exacting examination, especially with their phenomenal defensive line going up against a Bucs offensive line dealing with injuries.

Left tackle Tristan Wirfs, back-up offensive tackle Josh Wells and center Ryan Jensen are all rated questionable and have missed practice time this week. All three will probably take to the field but it's debatable how effective they will be against a ferocious Rams line.

The Buccaneers' secondary is also a concern. Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting didn’t play against the Eagles last week with a hamstring injury, which forced Tampa to play a season-high 51 snaps with three safeties on the field.

Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni were unable to take advantage, but Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and head coach Sean McVay can be relied upon to do a better job.

Stafford torched the Cardinals on Monday and against the blitz he completed seven of nine pass attempts for 148 yards. That’s noteworthy as Tampa’s defence have the highest blitz rate in the league.

You can never discount Tom Brady in a playoff game but his timing looked a bit off against the Eagles last week, and losing a number of key wide receivers could be catching up with the Bucs' offence. Take the Rams on the handicap.

The lowdown

Venue Raymond James Stadium
Surface Grass
Weather Partly cloudy, 16C
Vegas handicap LA Rams +2.5
Vegas points line 48

Key stat

The Rams have covered the spread in their last five games against the Bucs in Tampa.

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