Lions vs. Bucs Odds
TAMPA, FL (The Spread) – The Detroit Lions are buzzing coming into the 2011-12 NFL Season. Can Tampa Bay derail the hype train in Sunday’s season opener at 1PM ET.
Tampa Bay was 10-6 last season but came up shy of making the playoffs on a tiebreaker. The Lions were 6-10 in 2010-11 but won their last four games of the season. Tampa has won five of the last seven meetings in this series, but the Lions have covered in six of those seven games. Sunday’s game will be played at 1PM ET on FOX.
Trends show that Lions have covered the spread in their last 4 games in Tampa Bay while the underdog has covered in 6 of the last 8 games in this series. Tampa Bay is also 5-16 ATS in their last 21 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Week 1 games.
Oddsmakers have Tampa Bay as a slight favorite at home. The Bucs have a point spread of -1 against Detroit on Sunday afternoon. The over/under total has been set at 41 points. (View Matchup)
Tampa Bay was just 4-4 at home last season. Offensively, the Bucs posted 21.3 points and 335 yards per game. The Bucs averaged 125.1 rushing yards per game last season thanks to the play of LeGarrette Blount, who rushed for 1,007 yards and six scores in his rookie season. Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman also threw for 3,451 yards and 25 touchdowns last season. On defense, Tampa held opponents to 19.9 points and 332 yards per game. They were one of the best pass defenses in the league, allowing just 201 yards per game through the air.
Detroit ended a lengthy losing streak on the road by going 2-6 on the road last season. The Lions averaged 22.6 points and 338 yards per game on offense last season. The Lions did this without quarterback Matthew Stafford most of the way, as he missed the majority of the season with a shoulder injury. On defense, Detroit did give up 23.1 points and 124.9 rushing yards per game, but the Lions had a strong pass rush, racking up 44 sacks. Ndamukong Suh won rookie defensive player of the year last season as he had 10 sacks.
In terms of Injuries, Detroit defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch is questionable to play with a shoulder injury while rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley is out with a foot problem. For Tampa, defensive tackle Gerald McCoy is questionable with a bicep injury while tight end Kellen Winslow is also questionable with an ankle injury.
Currently over 10,500 Public Bets have been placed on this game and Detroit is getting 73% of the wagers with odds of +1 at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
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