NFL Week 5 Patriots Buccaneers

Week 5 of the NFL season kicks off with a Thursday night game between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and is scheduled to begin at 8:25 PM. ET.

Patriots Analysis
The Patriots came into the season as the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but after four games, they find themselves behind the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East. New England’s offense is the second best in the league, scoring 32.3 points per game. However, their defense has been one of the worst in the league, allowing opponents to average 32 points per game, which is the second most so far this season.

If the Patriots are to repeat as champions this year, they will need to start playing better on the defensive end, if not, they might not make it to the playoffs this year.

Buccaneers Analysis
The Bucs also came into the season with playoff aspirations, but they haven’t been consistent this season. They struggled with a winless New York Giants team this week after being blown out by the Vikings a week ago. Their game against New England will be their toughest test so far, and will help the team guage just how good they are this season.

Tampa Bay’s passing game has been very good so far with Jameis Winston picking up where he left off last season. Tampa Bay is averaging 277 passing yards per game, which is the third most in the league, but their running game needs improvement as they average 84.7 points per game, which is 26th in the league.

The Bucs should be able to move the ball against New England’s defense, but they cannot afford to settle for field goals against the Patriots when they get into the red zone.

Pick and Prediction
The Patriots are 5.5 point favorites going into the game, but they haven’t shown that they are capable of stopping opposing offense this year so I’m picking Tampa Bay to cover the spread.