You’ll find a similar report for college football this week, but in case you missed it, I figured I would take this time and space to showcase another valuable feature at VSiN.com that seems to be underused each season: Team Trends, which are listed for every matchup on the board.
The trends are sorted each week by a grading scale and separated by which side or total they favor. I went through all 15 NFL games in Week 8 and handpicked one of the trends I felt was relevant to the upcoming matchup. Along with the specifics of the trend, I’ve also detailed the reasons I find the angle important.
Baltimore at Tampa Bay (Thursday night)
Play ON TAMPA BAY at HOME Against strong rushing teams averaging more than 4.4 RYPA (16-7-2 ATS L25G)
Analysis: The easy thing to do at this point would be to simply give up on the Buccaneers. After all, they have lost four out of five outright and five straight against the spread. The last two losses were in embarrassing fashion. That said, it is always darkest before dawn, and something’s telling me this is where it turns. First off, this is the first time since the Bucs-Packers game in Week 3 where I think the Bucs aren’t overpriced. Second, they still have Tom Brady, and he has proven over the years that challenging him is a bad idea (in this case, as a home underdog). Third, over the last few seasons, the Bucs have consistently had one of the best rushing defenses. They figure to put this game on Lamar Jackson's ability to throw.