Venue/Stadium: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, Florida
Nobody was expecting the Indianapolis Colts to put up such a strong fight against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that ended with a game-ending field goal in the dying seconds to cost the home side on Sunday Night Football.
Time/Date: Monday Night Football – October 3, 2011 – 8:30 PM ET
NFL Odds from TheGreek
Moneyline:
Spread (ATS): Buccaneers -10.5
Over/Under: 40
The fact is that a determined team rallied together in front of a national audience and gave an impressive effort to nearly pull off an improbable victory in front of its hometown fans. Now comes the even tougher task of traveling to Raymond James Stadium to face a Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ team that has been winning games in the trenches, and is tied at the top of the NFC South.
The Buccaneers managed to end a five-game losing skid against the division rival Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday thanks in big part to a tremendous effort by their defense, and a solid job by running back LeGarrette Blount to put the game away late. Blount rushed for just 81 yards on 24 carries, but it was his ability to move the chains late and protect the football that made the difference for an offense that turned the ball over twice and still won the turnover battle. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The biggest reason for that was the play of a strong defensive unit, which featured a breakout performance from a rookie and another standout performance from a seasoned veteran. Rookie defensive end Adrian Clayborn had a sack, forced fumble, and three pressures on Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, while cornerback Ronde Barber who deflected three passes and intercepted another one, and also recovered the fumble forced by Clayborn. Tampa Bay will look for a similar performance from those two this week under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, but will also need its offense to me much more consistent.
That could be tougher than most people think against Dwight Freeney and an upstart Indianapolis defense that clearly has something to prove. With Kerry Collins expected back under center the Colts should continue to show improvement on offense, and if the defense plays the way it did against the Steelers, they should be able to keep this one close. Freeney had two sacks and five pressures against Pittsburgh, and he will try to make life miserable for Buccaneers’ quarterback Josh Freeman this Sunday. But Tampa Bay will be fired up wit ha rare showcase on Monday Night Football. They’ll bring the pain to the stumbling Colts.
NFL Betting Pick: Tampa Bay
