NY Giants (3-6) at Tampa Bay (6-3)
When: Monday, November 22nd 2021
Where: Raymond James Stadium,
Tampa, FL
Time: 8:15 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Tampa Bay -12.5/51
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking to snap a rare two-game losing streak when they get set to host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football to conclude Week 11 of the NFL season. Tampa went into their bye with a 36-27 loss at the New Orleans Saints and looked anything but a Super Bowl champion team after the bye. The Washington Football Team shocked the Bucs 29-19 to tighten up the NFC South race. Tampa Bay now leads the Saints by just one game and of course, don’t own the tiebreaker with New Orleans. The defense has surrendered 64 points over the last two games, but the offense is still clicking. Tampa Bay ranks third in scoring at 31.0 points a game and No. 1 in passing (315.6) behind Tom Brady. Speaking of Brady, the future Hall of Famer has now failed to cover the spread in 11 consecutive prime time games including all three this season.
The good thing however, is that opposing QB Daniel Jones has never won a game under the lights. Jones and the Giants have lost both night games this season – a 30-29 loss to Washington on a Thursday in September and a 20-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on a Monday earlier this month. Jones is now 0-7 in prime time games but has covered the spread in both this year. New York is coming out of their bye after a 23-16 home win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 9. This will be the fifth straight season the Giants and Bucs have faced-off, splitting the last four. The Bucs were big favorites on a Monday night in New Jersey in Week 8 last year and won 25-23. Jones hit Golden Tate on a 19-yard TD pass with 28 seconds left, but the two-point try to tie failed. Brady threw for 279 and two TDs, going to Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski. The Giants are 4-0-1 against the spread in the past five meetings.
The bye week should give New York time to heal some key players including running back Saquon Barkley. However, it is very questionable that the versatile back will be available Monday due to a lingering ankle injury. Barkley was hurt during a 44-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 10 and has rushed for just 195 yards and two touchdowns this season. Also, wideout Sterling Shepard has been ruled OUT for this game with a quad injury and so has left tackle Andrew Thomas. The Giants are playing better of late, winning two of three, but both were at home. New York has one road win and needed a huge fourth-quarter rally (and overtime) in New Orleans to get that. The Giants are 20-6 ATS in their past 26 as road dogs, however, so they are competitive. New York will host the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday afternoon.
Tampa Bay came out of its bye flat last Sunday, losing to the last place Football Team. Brady threw two touchdowns, but also had two interceptions. He badly misses injured tight end Rob Gronkowski and receiver Antonio Brown. Gronkowski is listed as questionable with a bad back, while Brown has been ruled out once again with an ankle injury. To make matters worse, nose tackle Vita Vea, perhaps the biggest reason why Tampa Bay is so good against the run (79.8 ypg), was hurt vs. Washington and is doubtful for Monday. Wide receiver Mike Evans tied Mike Alstott for the most TDs scored in team history with No. 71. Alstott, a fullback, rushed for 58 scores and had 13 as a receiver. Tampa Bay placed cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) on injured reserve earlier this week. The defense has slipped to 18th in scoring, allowing 23.6 points a game after a rough couple of weeks.
As bad as the Giants might seem to be, they do play hard, especially on the road. They have covered 20-of-26 away from home as a dog and are 4-0-1 ATS in the last five meetings with the Bucs. The fact that Tom Brady has failed to cover 11 straight prime time games is amazing and can’t be overlooked. I’ll take my shot with the G-Men in this one.
Pick: Giants +11
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