Heading into the first game of Monday night’s NFL doubleheader, two teams sit in first place in their respective divisions at 4-2.

The seasons haven’t been flawless for the Ravens (who lost their first two games before rebounding with four straight wins) and Buccaneers (who laid an egg with an inexplicable home loss to Denver in Week 3), but they both represent two of them better teams in their respective conferences.

The inter-conference clash is expected to be a close affair as oddsmakers have pegged Baltimore as 3.5-point away favorites. The overall score of 50 is one of the highest in Week 7.

Here’s a preview of the matchup with a selection of the spread and over/under.

Ravens vs Buccaneers odds

Ravens vs. Buccaneers spreads out

After Baltimore started as a five-point favorite, the gap narrowed to 3.5 points, still in favor of the Ravens. Baltimore is 3-2-1 against the spread (ATS), while the Bucs are 4-2 ATS.

The Ravens’ losses early in the season included a road game against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs and a home game against the now 2-4 Raiders.

Since then, however, they have rattled off four straight wins, including two tough three-point road decisions against the Cowboys and Bengals – the latter a high-scoring overtime thriller.

The Ravens appear to be the best team in the AFC right now, and they now face a Tampa Bay defense that has been solid overall but has the fifth-worst run defense in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.

Through the first six games of the season, the Bucs are allowing 4.7 yards per rush, ninth-most in the league.

Plus, the Bucs’ massive 51-point game against New Orleans looks a lot less impressive now after Denver’s poor offense posted 33 points and nearly 400 yards of total offense last Thursday.

We’d like to see this spread at a clean three points, but we have no problem getting 3.5 in a favorable matchup with the best offense in the league.

Pick: Ravens -3.5 (-110, DraftKings)

Ravens vs Buccaneers Total Score

The total score started at 46, but has since increased to as high as 50.

Baltimore has a 5-1 over record as its defense has been overplayed most of the season, while Tampa Bay has gone over the score in four of its six games.

Both offenses are firing on all cylinders, averaging 73.3 points per game over the last three games.

Betting on the NFL?

This line might be more appropriate if Baltimore’s defense (23rd in opponents’ points per game, 16th in opponents’ yards per game) had lived up to its expectations in the first third of the season, but that’s not the case.

Ultimately, neither defense has a chance of stopping these highly dynamic offenses. So expect another high score in this game.

Selection: Over 49 points (-130, bet365)

Why you should trust New York Post Betting

Andrew Norton hinders the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved an outstanding 14.1% ROI by cashing in 60% of his NBA spread picks and led Tallysight in the SportsIQ metric.