The Denver Broncos are the favorites of people who bet on NFL to pick up another win, this time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, October 2nd at Raymond James Stadium. The sportsbook odds stand thus:
Denver Broncos -3 (-110) 44 (-115) -167
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3 (-110) 44 (-105) +147
The Denver Broncos (3-0) dispelled any doubts that Trevor Siemian is the true heir to Peyton Manning’s starting QB spot (sorry, Brock) in their 29-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Siemian went 23 of 35 for 312 yards and four TD passes, including a 41-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders to start things off. The last Denver Bronco QB to throw for four TDs was precisely Manning in 2014 versus the Miami Dolphins.
More importantly, the precocious Siemian rallied Denver with two clutch touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, capping his stellar performance hitting Demaryius Thomas on a 55-yard score with 4:23 left on the clock. Siemian became the first QB to throw for 300 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in their first road start.
The Tampa Bay Bucs posted a losing record with a 37-32 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Tampa Bay had the dubious honor of being the first team that the Rams score a TD against since moving back to LA. Bucs QB Jameis Winston threw 36 of 58 for 405 passing yards with 3 TDs, but also threw one interception that set up one of Rams running back Todd Gurley’s two 1-yard touchdown runs, and was stripped by LA’s defensive end Robert Quinn on the fumble that defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks returned up the left sideline.
Tampa Bay forced a punt after a thunder-and-lightning 69-minute delay and drove from their own 44 to the Rams 15 before Winston threw two incomplete passes and was tackled on the 5-yard line by Quinn on the final play.
Fans who bet on NFL will be looking forward to the duel between two second-year QBs that – barring any unforeseen event – will be among the league’s future stars. Winston rebounded well from an embarrassing four-interception performance against the Arizona Cardinals with a career-high 405 yards versus the Rams. Additionally, he has thrown seven touchdown passes in his past four games. However, the former Heisman Trophy may hit another bump in the road in the form of a Denver Broncos defense that has kept opponents to 306 total yards per game this season, and allowed 17.25 points per game in the past eight games.
Moreover, Denver has kept QBs to fewer than 200 yards in the last four games, and has allowed the Tampa Bay Bucs to score only 13 points in three of their previous four encounters. Finally, Denver edges out Tampa Bay in running, passing, and special teams (at least according to the Denver Post, but they couldn’t be biased, could they?). All things considered, people who bet on NFL can expect the Broncos to cover the spread and go 4-0 while they’re at it.