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Following some less-than-stellar Thursday Night Football matchups, the Week 8 action starts with a bang. The 3-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the 4-3 Baltimore Ravens at Raymond James Stadium.
If the oddsmakers are right, the battle between Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson will be tight. Tampa Bay is a two-point favorite to pick up a much-needed home victory.
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor also foreshadows an evenly-matched contest. The model gives the Buccaneers a 54.6 percent win probability.
Neither team has met lofty expectations entering Thursday’s matchup
After starting 2-0, the Buccaneers have lost four of their last five games. They have dropped consecutive road games to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Carolina Panthers, who respectively rank No. 27 and 30 on ESPN’s Football Power Index.
Meanwhile, the Ravens have fumbled opportunities at a much better start by failing to close games. They’ve squandered double-digit leads in each loss, most notably watching a 35-14 edge over the Miami Dolphins turn into a heartbreaking 42-38 loss in Week 2.
Thursday’s encounter nevertheless remains a marquee matchup between two MVP quarterbacks. And despite their struggles, the winning team would end the evening first in its division.
The game starts at 8:15 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video.