Sportsnaut
Week 7 concludes tonight with another Monday Night Football doubleheader on ESPN. Action kicks off at 7:00 PM ET with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Detroit Lions followed by the Houston Texans versus the Seattle Seahawks at 10:00 PM ET to wrap up the action.
Let’s dive into our Monday Night Football Predictions. with three projections for both the Buccaneers vs Lions game and the Texans vs Seahawks matchup.
In (https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/2024/gamelog), the Lions’ offense finished under 100 rushing yards just once in 18 contests (including the playoffs). It’s already happened twice this season. Now, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs face a Buccaneers defense that is allowing just a 3.7 yards-per-carry average (fifth in the NFL) this season, with only one opponent (the Seahawks) rushing for 100-plus yards against Tampa Bay since Week 10 of last season. Over that 14-game span, opponents have averaged just 72.5 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry against the Buccaneers. Pair that with the issues Detroit is having on the interior this season, and it could be a rough go for Montgomery and Gibbs on the ground.
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The two former No. 1 overall picks are certainly making the most of their second chances, with Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff each leading Super Bowl contenders this season. Heading into their Monday Night Football matchup, Goff and Mayfield have combined for a 26-3 TD-INT ratio this season. Both should add to those numbers tonight with strong performances.
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For Mayfield, he faces a Lions secondary that is without three of its starters, and a fourth (Kerby Joseph) is playing hurt. That’s music to the ears of Tampa Bay’s passing game, which is averaging 274.4 passing yards per game over the last five contests. Meanwhile, Goff should have plenty of opportunities to target Amon-Ra St. Brown in the slot versus rookie Jacob Parrish. In addition, Tampa Bay has had two of the worst off-ball linebackers in coverage this season.
The Buccaneers and Lions make every game entertaining, so predicting an exciting game on Monday Night Football is a little too basic. Instead, we’ve got Tampa Bay going into Detroit and snatching a victory that firmly puts them atop the NFC, with Mayfield leading a fourth-quarter comeback on primetime once again. The Buccaneers’ quarterback will cap it off late with a go-ahead touchdown, giving Tampa Bay a four-point lead that proves to be the deciding score.
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