Baltimore Ravens vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Thursday Night Football Betting Preview

The Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are both not quite where they want to be in the NFL standings this season. Both teams are hovering around the .500 mark, with the Ravens a game above .500 and the Bucs a game below.

Here, they meet on Thursday Night Football in Week 8, as both teams look for a win over a quality opponent that they hope will put them in the right direction as the second half of the season approaches.

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Baltimore Ravens

Last week, the Baltimore Ravens nearly blew a double-digit lead for the fourth time in seven weeks. However, they held on late to beat the Cleveland Browns by a field goal, moving them to 4-3 on the year and atop the AFC North standings.

This week, the Ravens are 1.5-point favorites against the Buccaneers but will need to be better at closing out games if they want to get a huge victory on Thursday.

This season, the Ravens are tied for 30th in the NFL in second-half points allowed, giving up 14.4 points per game in the final 30 minutes of action.

That has cost them games against the Dolphins, Bills, and Giants already this season. If the Ravens' defense only shows up for the first half of this game, Baltimore could be at 4-4 coming out of Week 8 and in danger of losing their grip on the AFC North.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Things went from bad to worse for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week, as they lost on the road to the Carolina Panthers. Tom Brady was outdueled by Panthers third string quarterback P.J. Walker, while the Buccaneers mustered just three points on offense.

This week, the Buccaneers will have to put up more points if they want a chance to keep up with Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.

For the Buccaneers, the ground game has been the biggest weakness of the team, which has negatively impacted their passing attack. Tampa Bay averages the fewest rushing yards per game through seven weeks in the NFL.

That has allowed opposing defenses to key in on stopping Tom Brady and the Buccaneers’ aerial offense, and some balance will be required to fix that.

Keys To The Game

Baltimore’s number one key to this game will be getting pressure on Tom Brady. Brady has really struggled when teams can get to him with four or fewer pass rushers.

If Baltimore can do that here, they have a great chance of forcing the Bucs into another woeful offensive performance that Lamar Jackson and company could easily surpass.

On the Tampa Bay side of things, the containment of Lamar Jackson is the number one key to this matchup. Jackson is so dangerous when he is able to break the pocket and force defenses to choose between trying to tackle him or defend his receiving targets.

If the Bucs can relegate him to being a pocket passer, they will maximize their chances of winning this game and getting back on track.