Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-1.5), Total 41 |
The Detroit Lions were the only NFL team to finish the 2011 NFL preseason with a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS record. Fans of the team know that it means absolutely nothing due to the franchise going 0-16 the last time it finished a season with an unblemished exhibition mark.
football betting total bettors will be jumping on the over due to the Lions posting 30 or more points in three of their four preseason games and quarterback Matthew Stafford connecting on 77.4 percent of his passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, the Lions possess a fierce defensive line, featuring last year’s Defensive Rookie of the Year, Ndamukong Suh.
The ‘over’ is 18-13 in their last 31 games, but the team has fallen below the total in four of six September games in that period.
Tampa Bay will be looking for revenge from suffering a 23-20 home loss to Detroit last season, as the team finished with a 10-6 SU record under the direction of third-year head coach Raheem Morris.
Each team has a 100-yard rusher in the game, as Buccaneers rookie LaGarrette Blount finished with 110 yards, while Lions running back Maurice Morris countered with 109.
The Buccaneers will be led by quarterback Josh Freeman, who threw for 25 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2010. He passes for 251 yards and a 99.9 passer rating in the aforementioned contest a year ago.
Defensively, the squad is seeking to give a better performance of itself, allowing 433 total yards to the Lions last year. There’s been signs of a turnaround in accumulating 14 sacks during the preseason.
It seems that three main draft picks in the last two years is starting to pay off on the defensive line, as Da’Quan Bowers, Adrian Clayborn and Gerald McCoy are quite the trio up front.
NFL betting bettors will likely side with the Lions due to their 7-1 ATS mark in the last eight meetings, while the underdog has grabbed the cash in six of eight games in the series.
