The Buccaneers will play their second game of the season inside Raymond James Stadium and the first with fans in attendance as the Chargers come to town. Los Angeles will be sThe Buccaneers will play their second game of the season inside Raymond James Stadium and the first with fans in attendance as the Chargers come to town. Los Angeles will be starting rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, who came in relief of quarterback Tyrod Taylor after he suffered an injury at the beginning of the season.
Rookie quarterbacks have lost their last 10 meetings against a Tom Brady-led offense. He's 6-2 against the Chargers in his career. The Bucs have also won their last two games against the Chargers and they'll be unleashing one of the league's best run defenses on Los Angeles running back Austin Ekeler. Tampa Bay is also letting up the fourth-fewest yards per game overall thanks to the young but hungry secondary stepping up.
Cornerback Carlton Davis said he's even looking forward to matching up against Chargers receiver Keenan Allen because he, "loves the smoke."
Given all that information, the Buccaneers enter Sunday's game as 7.5-point favorites. Let's see if the experts agree.
See below for the full list of expert picks.
- NFL.com, Greg Rosenthal – Buccaneers
- ESPN.com, Consensus – Buccaneers (split)
- ProFootballTalk, Mike Florio - Buccaneers
- USA Today, Consensus – Buccaneers (unanimous)
- SB Nation, Consensus - Chargers (split)
- CBSSports.com, Consensus – Buccaneers (split)
