Thursday Night Football picks and live discussion: Bucs at Bills

Tonight’s Thursday Night Football game features a cross-conference clash between the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Buffalo Bills.

DraftKings Sportsbook has the Bills as 9-point favorites over the Bucs.

This is an open thread for game chat.

Below some of the BTB staff made game picks using Tallysight. Check them out and the explanation for the picks.

Dave Halprin: Even though the Bills have looked rather ordinary lately, they will rally at home to beat a Bucs squad that is starting to fade. The Bucs wins have come against bad competition, and the Bills are desperate to get back on the right track. The Bills win in a blowout.

Tom Ryle: For several weeks I’ve looked at the teams and made a call based on data and logic. It has failed repeatedly, as it did on Monday night. The string of unexpected results is the only reason I’m taking the Bucs over the Bills in a close one, something like 23-19, to continue the trend.

David Howman: The Bills have done little in the last three weeks to inspire confidence, losing two games and barely beating the Giants. But they’re still immensely talented and are clear favorites against the overachieving Buccaneers, who appear to be running out of magic. I’ll take Buffalo 21-17, so they win but don’t cover.

Matt Holleran: Things have not been going well for the Bills but I think they turn that around tonight. Tampa Bay’s offense should not pose many problems for Buffalo’s defense and I see them winning a low-scoring game. Give me Buffalo, 23-17, so it’s a win, but not a cover.

RJ Ochoa: The Bills are the AFC’s Cowboys without the worldwide level of interest and therefore responsibility for when they underperform. I don’t exactly believe in them, but this Buccaneers team is really uninspiring. Give me Buffalo in a game that everyone will give them way too much credit for barely winning, 20-16. They won’t even cover the spread.

OCC: The Bills had the third-best Super Bowl odds entering Week 1, but have now lost two of their last three and look nothing like the juggernaut of the first four weeks. I still think the Bills offense is good enough to overcome their slumping defense, but I think this game will be closer than the -9 line suggests.